Carpe Noctum
by descentofthedoppelganger
Summary: In L.A. the sun is blotted out and Angelus is on the lose, what happens when he calls Buffy's house and the scooby gang makes their way to L.A. to help? Will the Beast and its master be defeated or will the forces of evil destroy them all in the end?
1. Prologue

A/N: So here it is a brand new story that I wrote half of in a span of 2 days. It was insane I mean I've gotten inspiration before but nothing like this. I couldn't seem to put my laptop down and the words just poured out of me. Its going to be split into 2 separate parts. I've already finished the first part and am now working on the second part as well as my other Buffy story. Things are a little AU, well obviously a lot, but this is season 4 of Angel and the break in between season 6 and 7 of Buffy. Its a crossover but I figured it get more attention here. B/A, C/D, C/X, a little bit of Faith and more. I hope you enjoy this and please leave reviews, they really and truly make my day.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel. I don't own any of the dialogue used from the two shows. It all belongs to that genius we call Joss Whedon.**

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**Carpe Noctum**

PART I

_Prologue_

There are a few things Buffy Summers has learned since being called on to be the slayer, at the tender age of fifteen.

For one, vampires outfits are basically always carbon dated. That's usually how you spot them, well that those weird tinglies, and when said vamps are conspicuously shoving their fangs into some innocent person's neck. That pretty much _always _gives it away. Its sort of like knowledge that just comes automatically with the whole slayer gig. Kind of like the way she wishes French or Chemistry would have just come to her in high school. Bottom line, vampires equal fashion disasters.

Second thing she's learned, on a more serious note, is life isn't easy or even remotely fair. She's known that for a long time now, ever since she was called, actually.

You could save the world a thousand times and still end up flat on your face. Trust her, she knows plenty about that. She's had her fair share of heartache and pain throughout the years.

But over time you could say she's started getting used to it… well no. She will never get used to, or ever be okay with, the pain that comes with her destiny. Because she has gone through so much, too much, some might say. Its like clockwork to her.

First there's the denial. Not wanting to believe what she sees.

Then the heartache, the grief.

Then there's the acceptance.

And with that, thus begins the long, arduous healing process.

But even with the difficulty her life presents Buffy has always searched inside herself to deal with it. Because its really all she can do. That is until recently.

She knows saving people is always worth it, in the long run and short term, because everyone deserves to live their life without having to worry about the next inevitable and impending apocalypse.

But things haven't been the same for her, ever since dying for the _second _time she just cant seem to muster up all of that self righteousness that she's always been known for.

Her and Spike even struck up a … relationship, before he left town. If you could even call it that. Is having sex to feel something, anything, really defined as a relationship? She doesn't know.

What she does know is that The Powers That Be must really have it in for her, because it seems like every time she manages to pick herself up, after what she thinks is the lowest she can go, they just send some other god sent tragedy down to wreak havoc in her life. And then the process starts all over again.

But Spike is gone, left for who knows where and now she doesn't have the distraction he would usually bring her. She knows she's messed up. Six years of slaying, betrayal, grief, will do that to a girl. To anyone really.

But since Sunnydale's latest and 'greatest' apocalypse, involving Willow murdering Warren and almost massacring Jonathan, Andrew and the rest of the world in the process, Buffy has been trying to regain some semblance of self. If not just a little bit.

Willow was sent to England to get her own special kind of rehab. A few months of mourning for Tara and some rehabilitation left her feeling fresh and ready to fight the good fight, which jump started her return to Sunnydale. That and a vision of some uber evil coming, like usual. Giles stayed behind, promising to keep in touch and also to eventually come back, unfortunately not knowing exactly when.

Things were finally starting to get back to some kind of normal, or at least as close to normal a person could get living on the hell mouth and all. She was still struggling silently, putting on her brave face for her friends. Life was… okay. She wasn't perfect and she wasn't completely miserable. She was there. She was okay. That is until she has a mysterious and possibly prophetic dream followed by a phone call she never knew was coming.


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: So just a little update. I fixed the first chapter a bit. I reread it and edited a little. Anyway I'll keep this short and sweet, here's the next chapter. Your feedback/reviews are very much appreciated. Enjoy.

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**Carpe Noctum**

_Chapter 1_

_Everything around her is clouded and hazy yet crisp and clear at the same time. Not in that drugged up kind of way where you don't even know which way is up but in a way that she's very aware of her surroundings yet still in a trancelike state. Otherwise known as a slayer dream. They aren't like normal dreams and over time she's learned to notice the differences, because unlike the dreams you have of talking to someone you feel like you've known forever, slayer dreams can mean life or death._

_At first, she's walking down a darkened road, her footsteps echoing in the silence. it's a street that looks fairly familiar to her but she just cant seem to name it exactly. Wanting to know where she is Buffy looks up toward the sky and sees the outer fringes of the sun peeking out behind a huge shadow that covers it. It looks almost like an eclipse except, is the dark shadow supposed to be moving like that? She furrows her brows and gazes down at her watch, which reads 12. Is it 12 pm or am? She cant tell._

_When she lifts her head again she's no longer on the street but in an odd, musty basement. She squints her eyes as they adjust to the darkness and she catches sight of a large cage with steel bars. She takes a few hesitant steps closer and sees a man pacing back and forth inside. His laughter permeates the air and she leans closer to get a better look just as he slams his hands against the bars. She jumps back and blinks, finding herself in a new location and she finds herself scouring the place._

_Its a factory, sort of like the one that used to be in Sunnydale, but this one is much bigger. There's a tall rock, looking demon holding an intricately decorated dagger and kissing a pregnant woman. The details are dimmed and she can't hone in on the woman's features but she gets a sense of familiarity. Like she may know this woman who is standing only a few feet away. She sneaks up from behind and touches the girls shoulder, she's getting a weird vibe from the woman and she knows like its her job to figure out why (Because when isn't it?). But its also something else. Like the woman needs help but is evil at the same time. She doesn't understand it but it curious despite it. But when the woman spins around to face her, Buffy stumbles backward and falls down on the cold ground… fear etched into the lines in her face._

xxxxxxx

Buffy gasps loudly as she jerks up in her bed and looks around the room frantically. She sighs with relief when she sees no caged man or demon lurking by her closet or sitting at the end of her bed. She swipes her hand across her face to wipe away the sweat that's beaded on her forehead and looks over at the clock. 12 A.M. Geez, all she wanted was a little sleep. God forbid she get one peaceful nap after a long day of working at the Double meat palace. Buffy shudders as she thinks about the woman that appeared in her dream and wonders who she may be. Her face was like nothing she has ever seen before. Infested with maggots and completely void of eyes, a nose or a mouth. Definitely someone in serious need of a facial.

She throws back the sheets that are tangled around her legs and slides carefully out of bed. She sighs again as she looks at her pallid complexion in the mirror. She _really _needs some sun and some more sleep. That would probably do the trick. She grabs her favorite pair of boots, jeans and a t-shirt and promises to go talk to the gang about her dream after a quick patrol. She says goodbye to Dawn and starts toward Restfield.


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: Okay guys, so chapter two is here! I've been working really hard on this so please, reward my hard work with reviews and story alerts? :D Your feedbac is very much appreciated. Anyway enjoy. Until next time...

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**Carpe Noctum**

_Chapter 2_

Buffy has one foot out the door, ready to go out and patrol for the night, when she notices that its a bit chilly outside and she's kind of cold. She turns around and runs upstairs to her bedroom, throwing open her closet and sifting through the clothes she still has in her physical possession. The rest are most likely tucked somewhere in Dawn's room. Her sister does seem to have a knack for 'borrowing' her clothes without permission. She knows Dawn cant help it though, she has to admit and at least can say that her sister does have good taste. That's pretty much the only pro, otherwise it gets extremely irritating when she's looking for her favorite shirt only to find out Dawn has it on.

Buffy's hand absently grazes over her wide collection of coats when her fingers catch on a rough patch of leather sticking out from her mass of clothes hanging in her closet. She doesn't realize it until she's already pulling at it but eventually she sees that the piece of leather is connected to a jacket. Angel's jacket. She knows she should probably shove it back in her closet without a second glance. Somewhere hidden deep in the black hole you can call her closet, where she wont have to look or even think about it, or him. Because, she really doesn't want to go there for what seems like the millionth time since he left but instead of listening to her better half, she impulsively pulls it out and throws it over her shoulders. Despite not being worn for over 4 years she still feels the overwhelming tingle fill her as the leather encompasses her small body. She isn't sure what brought on this spontaneous desire to take a trip down memory lane but Buffy goes with the string of memories that come.

Patrolling with Angel in the graveyard.

Kissing him.

Making love with him.

Fighting him.

Fighting alongside him.

Killing him.

Watching him go.

But most of all, just being with him.

She'd be stupid if she said she didn't miss him. Buffy misses him more then she's let herself admit over the past year. She still loves him of course. She probably always will. She's not really sure how she feels about that, especially knowing that he left her and probably has forgotten all about her by now, but it doesn't change how she feels. Sometimes she wishes… she sighs shaking her head resolutely. It doesn't matter what she wishes, Angel's gone and he's not coming back, at least not without a good reason like say, and apocalypse?

Even these few moments of remembering have her all worked up so she shoves all thoughts of her past lover aside and lets the false sense of safety and security wash over her as she closes her bedroom door and starts down the stairs. When she walks toward the kitchen she watches as Dawn slams the phone down on the receiver and huffs in annoyance.

"Hey, who was that?" Buffy asks curiously and Dawn jumps, startled by her sister.

"Jeez, Buffy you freaked me out. I thought you left?" Dawn nearly screeches.

"Well I realized it was cold out and went to get a … jacket." she looks down self consciously and pulls the leather jacket tighter against her. Dawn's eye brows quirk up suspiciously but Buffy distracts her by changing the subject.

"Dawn, who called? Was it Xander or maybe Giles?" she wonders hopefully, casually leaning against the counter. They've been trying to get in touch with Giles for two weeks now but no one seems to know where he is. Not even the watcher's council, who she's been hounding for the past few days.

"Uh, no." Dawn shifts uncomfortably and her face screws up in something Buffy cant really put a name to. Confusion maybe? "Actually, it was Angel." her sister says hesitantly and Buffy's jaw nearly drops.

"Angel?" Buffy is momentarily stunned. How ironic is it that he calls at just about the same time she decides to pull out his old coat? "Well, what did he want?" she asks, doing her best to keep her voice emotionless. Sort of like the way Angel was when she met up with him a few months ago. He was so distant and … she cant really explain it. Like he didn't care anymore, hence the reasoning behind her 'Angel forget all about Buffy' theory.

"I, uh, I don't know actually. He asked if you were home and I told him you were just about to go out on patrol… then he hung up."

"Huh." Buffy says, tilting her head sideways and putting a hand on her hip. She cant help but feel her 'spidey sense' tingling and she has a feeling it wasn't just your run of the mill vamp setting it off.

"Yeah, that's pretty much what I said." Dawn agrees, shrugging nonchalantly, simply brushing it off.

"Alright well, let me call Willow, see if maybe if she can get in touch with Wesley, to check and see if something is up over in L.A." Buffy explains, her hand instinctively stretching out for the phone.

"Okay." Dawn says grabbing the phone and handing it over before stepping away from the area where her sister has already started dialing. Its not like it wasn't expected, Angel is everything, whether him and Buffy are together or not.

"Hey Will. I need a favor." Buffy says into the phone receiver, a slight edge in her tone.

"Is this an emergency?" Willow asks in concern, her mind already jumping to the worst possible scenarios. Demon. Hell God. Spike.

"Yeah, its kind of urgent, but not a complete emergency. Angel just called. I need you to call your friend Fred, the one who works with him in L.A.? And see what's going on." Buffy tells her as she twirls her fingers nervously around a lock of her grown out hair.

"No problem. I'll call her right now." Willow replies sweetly, happy to help her best friend out but not worrying too much about her request.

"Okay, just call me back with news." Buffy advises and Willow willingly agrees before hanging up.

Buffy waits anxiously by the phone and picks it up just as soon it begins to ring.

"So what's the word, Will?" she asks, a bit of hysteria in her voice. For more reasons then one. Her stomach is fluttering with a medley of emotions.

"You're not going to like this." Willow says slowly, afraid to upset the blonde slayer, formally known as her best friend.

"What happened?" Buffy demands, there is no time to beat around the bush. Especially when it comes to Angel. Willow sighs and goes on.

"Angelus is back."

The next 20 minutes is a flurry of chaos. Buffy doesn't even have time to think before she grabs Dawn and calls the others so they can meets up at the Summer's home to discuss their plan of action. She's the first to arrive and is pacing, Dawn looking on worriedly but at a loss at what to do, when Xander, Anya and Willow finally show up.

"Wow, I cant believe dead boy went and got himself unsouled again. So much for safe sex." Xander says jokingly and Willow gives him a disapproving glance as he, Anya and herself take a seat next to Dawn on the couch in the living room. Buffy's jaw clenches as she thinks of what he's insinuating and her blood boils.

"Shut up, Xander." Buffy grinds out before turning to Willow pleadingly. "Do we know how it happened?"

"It was premeditated. That's all I know. That and something about a Beast. I told Fred we'd do what we could. She said she'd keep it from the others until one of us gets there. Things are kind of tense over there. I mean I could only imagine." Willow states, grabbing an orb of thessulah from under the counter. Buffy visibly lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Premeditated. That's got to be better than what she was imagining. But Angelus is back so there's absolutely nothing to be grateful for.

"So what's happening? Are we all going down to L.A. or is someone staying behind?" Xander questions, biting into his jelly donut that he picked up on his way over. What? He was hungry.

"Will and I have to go." Buffy insists firmly. Maybe there was something to be grateful for. Willow could put his soul back. And everything would be okay.

"Do you really think it's a good idea for you…" Xander starts to say, his voice fresh with nothing but concern this time. Buffy just shakes her head furiously in refusal.

"Xander. I'm going. That's final." Buffy says, leveling her gaze with her friends and putting on her best resolve face. "Besides, Will's the only person who can put his soul back. Not to mention the fact that this whole thing is probably connected with the dream I had earlier."

"Dream you had? Was it a prophetic one?" Willow asks, her interest peaked as she gets ready to recite the routine questions she knows Giles would ask.

"Yeah. I was walking down a street… it must have been L.A. and then I was in an old building…"

"Probably the Hyperion." Willow adds and Buffy nods in agreement.

"Possibly. But I saw a man, it must have been Angel. He was locked up in a cage and pacing back and forth inside. His facial expression would shift from worried to arrogant and cocky in 2 seconds flat. Then there was a tall demon, he almost looked like a rock, but he was kissing a pregnant woman who had maggots all over her face. It was beyond creepy." Buffy tells them, throwing up her hands to demonstrate the ewness factor in a very old Buffy gesture.

"Hm. That does sound like it may be a part of the Angel fiasco. The only way to find out is to go to L.A. and find out our selves." Willow concludes and Buffy stands up to show her agreement.

"Shouldn't someone stay behind just incase?" Dawn points out and everyone turns to Buffy for an answer.

"Of course, the hell mouth." Xander states bummed by the reminder. No one can ever get a vacation around here you know?

"And Giles. He may come back." Buffy adds thoughtfully, putting her hands on her hips as she thinks.

"I'll stay." Anya offers kindly. "If its absolutely necessary I can enlist in the help of our old friend Clem and a few demons who owe me one. And if Giles shows up, I'll send him your way."

"Alright. Sounds like a plan." Xander smiles, clapping his hands together loudly.

"Hey! What about me?" Dawn demands, a scowl marring her features.

"What about you?" Buffy retorts distractedly, her mind already racing, preparing herself for the emotional hurricane that is sure to come with another encounter with her hardest enemy, Angelus.

"Where am I supposed to go?" Dawn demands angrily.

"You're not going anywhere unless I do. Got it?" Buffy tells her sister and Dawn just slumps back into her seat and sighs.

"Ugh. Why do I have to get left behind with the-" she starts to grumble, crossing her arms over her chest and going into pout mode before her sisters words register in her brain. "Wait, I'm going?"

"Yes, you're coming." Buffy confirms absently and Dawn breaks out her trademark 'I got my way' grin.

"Okay. So its settled. When do we go?" Willow wonders, turning to Buffy for an answer.

"Now would be good." Buffy says sheepishly. But Willow nods in complete understanding.

"Well I need at least a half hour to get the ingredients for the spell and then we can go." Willow tells her best friend and Buffy nods.

"Okay we'll split up. You get the ingredients, We'll go grab some weapons."

"Kay. Meet up at your house in 30."


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: So here it is. Chapter 3. I haven't gotten too many repsonses on this, and I really should be working on my other stories but this one has wormed its wa into my heart. So I present you with Chapter 3. Enjoy. And please, please, please dont forget to review. It brightens up my whole day.

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**Carpe Noctum**

_Chapter 3_

Fred grabs a few candles and starts to light them as Lorne chants. She hopes to god, if there is one, that this will work.

"Violence restrained, demons disarmed, For mortals within these walls, no harm. Protection and safety this charm doth endow, To make this shelter a sanctuary now!" Lorne shouts, flicking the incense in his hand all around the room.

"Is that it?" Gunn asks skeptically as he surveys the room. Nothing appearing to have changed in the slightest, hence his doubtful demeanor. He still has an uneasy feeling, Angelus could still somehow find a way. He always does.

"How do we know it worked?" Fred wonders curiously, also taking a look around the lobby questioningly. They cant deal with him showing up, not until they can at least get some back up. Maybe someone who's facxed him before… the slayer?

"Well, if we followed the recipe… it should be cake. A demon violence-free zone cake." he assures her, setting down the book in his hand and patting hers soothingly.

"I don't know, Lorne. It doesn't feel like anything's different." Fred says uneasily, looking carefully around the room. "I mean we should still be on guard just in case, right?"

Lorne shakes his head in disagreement as Conner makes his way over to the couch and sits down on it, shaking his head back and forth in disgust.

"Cause it's not. Like every other lame spell you people try, it didn't work. It never works. I've pretty much concluded that magick sucks. I mean, if I were you guys, I'd—"

Lorne rolls his eyes and picks up a nearby candlestick, walking behind Conner and raising it like a weapon. He attempts to bring it down on his head, but before it can strike, Lorne is repelled immediately backwards. Gunn opens his arms and catches the singing demon before he hits the floor.

"See? It works sometimes. It also smarts like the dickens." Lorne grumbles, putting a hand to his head as he leans against the counter and tries to catch his breath.

"Sanctuary spell's working?" Wesley asks as he breezes in from the basement level.

"Yeah, like a charm. Literally." Lorne laughs bitterly, still attempting to catch his breath.

"Good, it will make this easier." Wesley nods walking over to his things and starting to get geared up. If he's going to pull this off, he's going to have to be prepared.

"Make what easier?" Gunn probes curiously, but Wesley ignores his question and turns to Fred.

"Where's Cordelia?" he wonders and they all look toward the stairs.

"Upstairs, asleep. She still feels weak." Fred explains and Wesley nods at the confirmation before continuing with what he was doing.

"Make what easier?" Gunn repeats emphasizing each word the second time as he steps in front of Wes before the British man can take off out the door.

"We're going to bring Angelus in alive." Wes tells him flatly, still uncomfortable around him since their argument.

"No, we're not." Conner growls, jumping up from his seat on the couch and choosing to intercede in the conversation.

"I thought you said capturing him wasn't an option?" Gunn wonders, trying to wrap his mind around actually catching their evil boss, or er, ex boss.

"Changed my mind." Wes shrugs, throwing on his coat and starting toward the door again.

"Change it back." Conner snarls, stepping up to Wesley and blocking his path.

"We get rid of Angelus, then what? We still have a Beast we don't know how to kill. We know it's working for something much worse but we don't know what it is. We're caught in the middle of a maelstrom and we can't

get out without our champion. We're going to save Angel… and I know who we need to help us do it."

"And who's help are we gonna get? Because I've already got someone in mind…" Fred rambles in her southern accent, attempting to get everyone's attention.

"Faith." Wesley says simply. Fred pales at the name.

"But, we might not need…" Fred begins to deny but its too late, Wesley is already out the door and she sighs. She's hopes everything turns out okay.

xxxxxxx

Over the next hour everyone's edgy and paranoid. Waiting… for what? No one knows actually but all they _can _do is wait. Wait for Wesley to get back. Wait for Angelus to show up. Wait for Faith to do what she does best. And in Fred's case, wait for the Scooby gang to make their appearance.

Connor practices determinedly with a long, silver bladed sword on the upper balcony while Gunn paces nervously in front of Fred and Lorne, checking his crossbow over and over again to the point Fred wants to take it from him and hurl it across the room just to get him to stop looking at it.

"Oh, relax, boys, the spell is working and I still got the slight migraine to prove it." Lorne tells them, pointing to his skull but both Gunn and Conner shake their heads.

"Yeah, maybe so but if Angelus shows up, I want to be ready." Gunn informs them, cocking his crossbow for good measure for the fiftieth time, _at least_.

"We are. Now." Wesley says, a smile on his face for the first time in days as him and Faith enter the Hyperion. Faith checks out the hotel lobby pursing her lips in approval.

"Sweet crib." Faith compliments, an appreciative smile on her face.

"Everyone, this is Faith, the Vampire Slayer." Wesley introduces, gesturing toward the dark haired, brown eyed woman standing next to him. Fred moves forward and sticks out her hand in greeting, doing her best to be friendly despite the stories she's heard about the rogue slayer.

"Hello, Faith. I'm—"

"Fred. Yeah, Wes kinda gave me the skinny on you." Faith says nodding in her direction.

"Oh…" Fred replies a bit taken aback before stepping back and flipping off her overly southern hospitality.

"Faith? What the hell is she doing here?" they hear Cordelia demand as she starts to descend the stairs, staring at Wesley accusingly and glaring in Faith's direction.

"Nice to see you, too, Cor." Faith waves, an amused smile touching her features.

"She's here to help." Wes provides hopefully but Cordelia merely rolls her eyes and scoffs.

"Oh, gee! That's great. Wait a sec! Wasn't she convicted of murder and sent to a state correctional facility for like a gazillion years?" Cordelia says sarcastically.

"Murder two, 25-to-life. For the record." Faith informs her seriously and Cordelia rolls her eyes.

"So now you brought psycho-Slayer out of retirement to kill Angelus?" Cordelia raves, waves of hostility rolling off her.

"Cordelia, you have every right to feel that way about me. You have no reason to trust me. But I don't have loads of time so why don't we save it till after this is over, cool?" Faith asks nicely, nicer then she usually would be. But she's been trying to tone down that more angry side of her, which is why she offers the somewhat truce even though Cordelia is being a bitch. That and because its Angel on the line here, and she owes it to him _and _Buffy to help him out.

Cordy says nothing in response so Faith takes that as the okay. She turns to the others to discuss what she came for.

"Okay, let's get down to it. We're gonna keep this hunting party tight." Faith commands before turning to Gunn. "Gunn, right?" she asks, a bit uncertainly as she looks him up and down.

"Yeah." he confirms, hitching the crossbow up his arm unconsciously.

"Love the name. Hear you're a good fighter." she says to him, admiration saturating her voice.

"I hold my own." he shrugs, a sly smile touching his lips.

"That's a shame. You're with me, Wes and the kid." she tells him and he nods willingly.

"The kid has a name." Conner interrupts bitingly. Faith spins around to face him and sighs.

"Connor." she corrects herself before plunging on with her plan. "Arm yourself how you like but I want you to carry the tranq gun. If I can't take him down, I want you to be ready to take the shot, yeah?"

Gunn nods enthusiastically a wide smile spreads across his face. He definitely likes Faith's style.

"In case anyone has any other ideas, this is a salvage mission, not search and destroy." Faith says firmly before turning toward Conner and raising her brows. "Okay?" she emphasizes and Conner shakes his head furiously.

"No. Not okay. You think you can just breeze in here, telling everyone what to do?" He demands angrily. "You're not a part of this. If you think I'm not going to kill Angelus if he comes at me, then—"

"Listen up, junior. When I need a bloodhound, I'll call you. If Angelus needs putting down, I'll be the one to do it." Faith grinds out, taking an authoritative step toward Angel's teenage son.

"Nope, that'd be _my _job." they hear someone say sweetly. The group looks up and sees the scooby gang standing causally at the Hyperion's doors.

"The other one's here too. Well, that's just great." Cordelia complains, rolling her eyes and throwing herself down in a chair in defeat.

"The other _what_?" Conner asks, annoyance and irritation coloring his tone.

"The other slayer." Wesley says gladly as he stares at Buffy in awe.

"Hi, I'm Buffy!" Buffy smiles, waving at a gaping Wesley, Lorne, Gunn and Faith.


	5. Chapter 4

A/N: Chapter four is here and the longest one yet. I worked really hard on this so those of you reading? I would really appreciate feedback. Anyway Disclaimer's on the first chapter. Enjoy.

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**Carpe Noctum**

_Chapter 4_

"Faith, you're out of prison. How are you?" Buffy asks genuinely.

"I'm five by five. Glad to see you still got that holier than thou attitude, B." Faith jokes, giving her fellow slayer a warm uncharacteristic smile. Buffy's eyes widen.

"Yeah, well you know me so well." Buffy admits, smiling back at Faith and already noting the changes in her as she goes along with their friendly banter. She still has that deep welling respect for Faith after she turned herself in when Angel was on the line. That's something she'll never forget.

"How about you?" Faith questions and Buffy shrugs indifferently. The same attitude she's been having toward life. Willow and Xander exchange guilty glances and the fang gang is curious to find out the story behind them. Wesley guesses it has to do with the resurrection, but he cant be sure.

"I've been better, but hey at least I've got myself an apocalypse to worry about." Buffy says cheerfully, finally walking into the inner depths of the hotel.

"Cordy." Xander says wistfully as they come face to face. Anya a distant memory. "Long time no see. My, how you've grown."

"Xander." Cordelia almost scoffs, a playful smile touching her features despite herself.

"Hey Fred. It's good to see you." Willow greets leaning in to hug Fred before looking toward Wesley. "Oh, and it's the Marlboro Man. Or at least his extra stubbly, mentally unstable, insomniac, first cousin of—for the love of Hecate, somebody stop me."

"It's OK. I'm a yammerer from way back." Fred assures her kindly.

"Where's Giles?" Wesley questions, instinctively looking past the gang to look for him.

"Last we heard he was England. We haven't heard from in a few weeks." Buffy tells him doing her best to keep the worry out of her voice as she bites her lip. Wesley can still see the fear in her eyes, but only just. She does a good job of hiding it and Wesley feels a pang in his heart for what Buffy has been put through.

"So Angel's evil again. What's new?" Dawn interrupts casually as she rolls her eyes and takes a seat next to a quiet Conner on the couch. Conner's eyes widen a little as he takes in the girl sitting next to him. He wants to talk to her but instead turns to the others to get back to the conversation at hand.

"If we're done with the introductions, we kind of have my psycho killer father out there who is probably killing people right now. I say we take a stake and end him already." Conner insists, slamming his fist down on the arm of the couch. Dawn jumps at his sudden violent reaction and Conner almost says sorry, almost.

"And the sneer's genetic. Who knew?" Willow points out, shaking her head in mock disappointment.

"You don't learn do you?" Faith asks sardonically, with a knowing smile on her lips. She thinks she knows exactly what's coming next, but is surprised when someone other then Buffy comes to Angel's defense.

"Yeah. We've all had a moment where we've wanted dead boy well dead but that just isn't going to happen. So you might as well just abandon ship." Xander tells Conner chidingly, patting him roughly on the back.

"Like Xander said, we are not killing Angel. That's why Willow's here. So she can recurse him and then I can be on my merry way." Buffy says matter of factly with just a bit of disappointment in her voice, not going unnoticed by the others.

"Are there forces gathering? Did the call of magic draw you here?" Wesley asks, wondering if maybe this thing has become more powerful than they had already thought.

"Oh, no. More like the call of Angelus." Buffy informs him bitterly as she twirls her battle ax effortlessly. Her eyes are hardened and Wes feels that pang again in his chest.

"He called your home?" Wesley winces, an unsaid apology written into his rugged features.

"Its why I'm here." she explains, gesturing toward herself and the rest of the scooby gang.

"Yes, well, we are having some problems here in L.A. as I'm sure you have already noticed." Wesley runs a hand through his hair until he's gripping the back of his neck.

"Yeah, what's up with that?" Xander inquires, pointing to the windows and barely containing his desire to know the full story.

"Wait a second, did you say father?" Buffy almost cries, paling as the words leave her mouth and the young kids words finally register.

"Oh boy." Dawn lets out, her jaw dropping open.

xxxxxxx

"So this evil law firm thingy brought Darla back as a human to kill Angel but instead he just slept with her, hoping to lose his soul but then wound up impregnating her and making him?" Xander explains bluntly as he points to Conner. The boy glares but Xander just continues. "Then Wesley gave him to that Hertz guy-"

"Holtz." Wesley corrects automatically.

"And he came back all grown up a few months later. Then this beastie came to town and you took Angel's soul away so you could find out if there was a way to defeat said Beast. Who is the one who blotted out the sun and stole Angel's soul?" Xander finishes almost out of breath.

"Well, yes, that about sums it up."

"Wow. I mean like wow." Buffy says, eyes wide. "I, uh, I gotta go take a breather." she sighs, getting up from her seat on the couch and making her way outside to the garden. Its just so much to take in. She's not sure where to even begin processing. Angel has a son. A flesh and blood son.

How many times had she dreamed of what Angel would be like as a father, a father to _her _child. Not Darla's. She knew it would never happen anyway, and it wasn't like she even wanted kids (she was _only _sixteen at the time) but sometimes her imagination would run wild and she'd think about it. But that was all.

She wonders why Willow never told her, or why Angel never mentioned it the last time they saw each other. Albeit their last meet and greet wasn't exactly all rainbows and puppies, Buffy could feel distance between them for the first time since being away from each other all these years. He told her how happy he was she was alive, even gave her a soft kiss but it just didn't feel… right. She'd had sex with Spike a few days later.

"Hey Buffy, how are you doing?" she hears Willow ask as her best friend stands beside her. Buffy turns to her, her face the perfect picture of desolation.

"I don't really know. Its just, god, Angel's moved on. He has this whole other life now and I'm still… it doesn't matter." Buffy sighs deeply and runs a hand through her hair. She's still having trouble opening up, she loves Willow she really does but even admitting it to herself is hard. "We just need to find his soul, shove it back into his body and get the hell out of L.A. We have our own problems to deal with." Buffy heaves another sigh and looks wearily over at her best friend. Things have been rocky between the two of them but Buffy promised after Spike left she would try again with her two best friends no matter how hard it would be. No matter how horrible she felt. She would forgive Willow and she would forgive Xander. She'd be forgiveness girl. "Lets just get inside and take care of this beast thing." Buffy says lightly, nodding her head toward the door and walking with Willow back inside.

"So is there anything else you're not okay with?" Faith asks Conner just as Willow and Buffy come back in the room. "Good. Show me the weapons." Faith orders, directing a devious smile in Gunn's direction. Her and Buffy silently follow.

As they walk over to the weapons cabinet, Connor watches Buffy and Faith testing out their weapons gracefully, impressed in spite of himself. His slight smile of admiration and curiosity doesn't escape Cordelia's notice and her gaze goes completely cold.

After everyone is geared up Faith, Buffy, Xander, Gunn, Connor and Wesley make their way through the shadowy back streets of L.A. searching high and low for Angelus. They're all armed with their own weapons and ready to fight at a moments notice.

"So… Vampire Slayers. I was told about them. How come you're always girls?" Conner wonders hoping to get an answer from Buffy and Faith.

"I don't know. Better at it, I guess." Faith replies distractedly as her and Buffy get a lay of the land.

"Basically because a bunch of old guys decided they wanted to and that's that." Buffy shrugs, throwing her ax onto her shoulder.

"Well how else were they supposed to get their kicks? Its not like there was any TV back then, Buff." Xander quips and even Faith lets out a giggle.

"Yeah well, you two haven't seen what I can do." Conner says slyly and Buffy and Faith exchange a look bordering on amused.

"Let's not." Faith instructs just as they come up to a chain linked fence topped with barbed wire and in front of piles of warren crates and garbage.

"He was here. Just." Conner observes as he bends down and plays with a piece of the fence, lifting it up and slipping through, followed by Buffy, Wesley, Xander, Faith and Gunn.

They move carefully through the darkness, each one of them completely aware that Angelus could be hiding anywhere. Each scared of what might happen.

"Eyes and ears peeled, guys. Watch the periph. Nobody make a

move until—" Buffy starts to command when a vampire leaps out in front of Conner and he, without hesitation, decapitates it with his sword. Buffy slams Connor roughly up against the wall and pins him there.

"Are you deficient? What did she just say?" Faith shouts at him, her features marred with anger and irritation as she stands behind Buffy supportively.

"He was attacking!" Conner defends himself and Buffy shakes her head.

"You thought it was Angel. If you can't listen, you're no good to us. Get him out of here. Someone take him back to the hotel." she says pushing him toward Gunn and Xander.

"What?" Conner says angrily.

"Yeah, easier said. The kid's got a history of not doing what he's told." Gunn lets them know as Conner stands unmoving.

"He'll do what we tell him." Faith says menacingly.

"Yeah, sure I will." he replies sarcastically as he starts to head down the alleyway despite Buffy's orders. This time Faith snatches him and yanks him back by the collar of his shirt, slamming him against the wall. He wriggles from her grasp and sends a punch her way. Faith falls to the ground but quickly regroups, giving Conner something to think about. Buffy, Gunn, Wesley and Xander sit idly by and don't intervene.

"I get it. You're a super-being." Faith admits as she delivers a blow to Conner's chest. He kicks her into a wall and she punches him in the chest once again, grabbing her crossbow and cocking it, before leveling it at his throat.

"Are you a murderer? 'Cause I am. And if it comes down to you or Angelus, you haven't shown me a thing to make me want to take your side." Faith nearly growls as her and Conner face off. Conner finally raises his hands in surrender and picks up his sword before walking off in the direction they came from.

"Did I mention that I like her?" Gunn says blithely as he de-cocks his gun and hands it over to Wes, following Xander to make sure Conner doesn't do anything stupid.

"Come on." Buffy says gesturing Faith and Wesley to get a move on. They walk down the length of the alley until they find a ladder that extends to the roof. They lithely climb it and emerge on the rooftop of the warehouse, looking around carefully with each step they take.

"Do you know where we're going?" Wesley asks absently as they scour the roof of the warehouse. Faith just shrugs casually.

"Not especially." she replies her eyes darting back and forth between every shadow.

"How do you two expect to find Angelus without Connor?" he questions and Buffy looks at him with a look of 'DUH!'.

"The old-fashioned way. Something will turn up." she tells them grimly and both remember Buffy's previous experience with the vampire they're hunting. A wave of sympathy washes through the both of them as if their on the same wavelength. Ex watcher and slayer thinking the same.

"Yeah something always turns up. Like a trail of bodies, tell-tale clue…" Faith trials off as they round a corner and find a huge Banner hanging from a far wall and inscribed with 'WELCOME FAITH'.

"…maybe a carpet fiber." Faith offers lamely and Wesley shakes his head.

"So much for the complete element of surprise. We'll have to come at him from two sides." he says pointing in the directions he's discussing.

"You wanna take low. He wont expect you being here." Faith mentions distantly, focusing her gaze upward.

"Yeah, good idea." Buffy agrees turning to Wesley. "Looks like you're with me, Wes."

"I'll hit him high." Faith promises as she takes off, running the length of the roof and jumping from one ledge to another quickly blending into the dark night. Wes turns to face Buffy but suddenly feels a fist connect with his jaw and his face hit the hard concrete of the roof.

"Pretty ballsy, mister, creeping around my buddy Angelus. Come on, pretty boy!" the vampire laughs haughtily as he stands over Wesley. Buffy moves in and knocks the vampire down but Wesley grabs her shoulder and stops her.

"Buffy, go. Find Angel. Help Faith. I'll deal with our friend here."

Buffy nods automatically before speeding down into the warehouse to go and help. She goes as fast as her feet can take her until she reaches the inside. She sidles up along the side of the towering crates, following the sound of Angel's voice.

On the other side of the building, Faith drops down from the rafters and quickly takes in her surroundings.

"Hey, Faith. Nice to see you again. You're looking choice as ever. Oh, that's right. We've never really met, have we?" he asks playfully, his laughter echoing across the desolate, empty building.

"So what are you waiting for? Come out and give me a kiss." she cajoles, her eyes once again searching every crevice for his presence.

"No, no, no. You come to me. That's it… getting warmer." he encourages, his voice laced with pure excitement. Like a kid on Christmas, except without the good intention.

Faith comes to a vertical metal ladder and descends into the lower level of the warehouse, carefully keeping herself at a pace.

"Warmer… warmer… you're smokin' hot." he teases as he steps out from behind a large crate and smiles wide. "But then again, you probably knew that." Angelus cups his hand around his mouth and calls out. "Honey, I brought a guest home for dinner."

Faith whips around just as the Beast appears on the opposite side of the room, his tall figure looming over her. Angelus grins in Faith's direction and chuckles lightheartedly.

"Let's eat." he declares, flashing his teeth.

"What is this, Angelus?" the Beast demands in surprise, his voice as close to perplexed that he can probably manage.

"This is a Slayer. Say hi to the nice Beast, Faith." Angelus mocks, gesturing toward his big tall 'friend' that stands beside him. He's never really fought Faith but from soul boys memories… he knows this should be a real good time.

"You dare to bring a Slayer here?" the Beast roars, outraged at Angelus' stupidity.

"Hey, doing you a favor, Stonehenge. She's here to seriously mess up you and your boss's plans. So the question is, what do you do, hotshot? What do you do?" Angelus takes a step back initiating a challenge. He knows the beast could rip Faith apart, he just needs an opening.

The Beast stalks forward toward Faith, determination plain in his stony features. Faith reflexively raises her crossbow and fires the bolt into the Beast's chest. But the arrow simply cascades off and clatters to the floor harmlessly. She starts to go to work, delivering punches to its abdomen but nothing does the trick. The beast seizes Faith by her throat and lifts her off the ground in one swift movement.

"Smile, Faith. I thought you'd enjoy a threesome." Angelus laughs, watching delightedly as the beast goes to town on Faith's face.

"Sure… but I find foursomes much more enjoyable." she manages to get out, winking at a perplexed Angelus. But he doesn't have time to think about it before Buffy's fist meets his jaw and sends him stumbling to the ground. Faith breaks the Beast's hold on her neck and puts some distance between herself and her opponent.

"Hello, lover. Miss me?" Buffy smirks, twirling her stake through her fingers.

"…let's get it on." Faith shouts, attacking the Beast with a roundhouse kick to the chest and a flurry of jabs to the stomach. The Beast staggers slightly backwards but the blows don't even come close to taking him down and Faith keeps it up.

"Buffy! So glad you could make it. This just wouldn't have been any fun without you." Angelus tells her seriously as him and Buffy circle one another. He takes a quick look over at the other fight and shakes his head.

"Whoo-ee! Watch yourself, big guy. The girl's on fire." he compliments before turning back to Buffy. "So how's life been for you? Have you finally gotten over that bitch of a mother of yours finally kicking the bucket? Or are you still crying yourself to sleep every night?"

"Oh, I'm going to thoroughly enjoy kicking your ass." Buffy says fiercely, doing her best to map out a strategy.

"And what about you dying for the second time. God, you'd think you'd learn from that last time with the master but you just keep going. Remind me to thank that Glory chick for knocking you down a notch. You just don't seem to have that swagger you used to." he says, mock disappointment in his tone.

Buffy pours all her anger into her punches as takes Angelus down and beats his face in. She gives each punch its very own purpose. Landing blow after blow into Angelus' skull. She's not supposed to kill him, but no one said anything about beating him to a pulp.

Faith delivers another volley of punches to the beast's head but he simply thrust his long arm into Faith's chest shooting her backward a good ten feet until she crashes into a huge pile of crates.

Angelus punches Buffy so hard that she stumbles backward into the same pile of debris Faith is in.

"Oh… that's gonna sting in the morning." Angelus winces, watching as Faith and Buffy scramble to their feet. The Beast storms over to Faith and pulls her out of the debris and wreckage. She jumps up into the air and kicks the Beast face before landing lithely on her feet and aiming a punch at its belly.

"Not as much as this will." Buffy retorts running full speed ahead and tackling Angelus to the ground.

"Oh, if I knew you liked it this rough maybe I would have been up for another round with you." he laughs as he pins her down, trailing his fingers up the side of her thighs. She takes both booted feet and kicks him off her, both of them rolling over and quickly getting to their feet.

"Faith. Switch!" Buffy yells as the Beast knocks Faith to her knees. She can tell Faith is losing badly and needs an easier fight. She starts to run to Faith's side but Angelus grabs her hair and pulls her back.

"Not this time, lover." he whispers, curling his fingers through her golden locks. Damn, he missed this. _Her_.

Faith attempts to pick herself up but the Beast lands blow after blow on her head. She looks up, bruised and bleeding, just as the Beast kicks her in the face. She falls backward but twists around to pull herself up, when the Beast slams his foot into her spine.

"Come on, Buffy! You're not even trying." Angels accuses, chuckling as Buffy pushes him backward and runs to Faith's side. She bends down to help her up but instead gets thrown into a nearby wall and out of sight. The Beast yanks Faith to her feet and she spits blood in its face. It snarls in anger and slams Faith down into the ground before picking her up and throwing her across the room. Angelus shakes his head in mock sympathy as Faith struggles to stand, gasping in pain and holding her side.

"You know, somebody should break this up." Angelus says jeeringly and Buffy once again gets to her feet.

"Gladly." Buffy obliges going after the beast. She lands punch after punch into its chest but is simply thrown backward with the wave of the Beast's arm after a good few bone crunching blows.

Faith crawls desperately to the center of the room, her face contorted in pain as the Beast approaches and stands over her badly beaten body. She realizes that this is it. That she's about to die and faces the fact without fear.

"Faith!" Buffy screams, jumping to her feet and starting toward Faith. Angelus intercepts her and throws her back to the ground.

"Last I knew you and Faith were at each other's throats, what's with this desperate need to save her? Come on Buff, don't you want me all to yourself?" Angelus says huskily as he bends over her and punches her again.

"This is all you are. I had heard the Slayer possessed great strength… but there's no real power here. My master's power is beyond all limits. Beyond your petty imagining. You are weak. You are nothing. You could not even defeat me."

Angelus slinks over to the beast and stares sadly down at Faith as Buffy desperately tries to pick her battered body up.

"Ain't that the truth? I mean, look at this guy. Pretty much the only thing that could do damage to that thick stony hide… is himself. Or maybe, I don't know… maybe a piece of himself." Angelus suddenly rips out the Beast's special dagger and digs it into his back. The Beast lets out an agonized scream and stumbles backward as he frantically tries to rip out the dagger embedded in his spine. His body begins to crack and a reddish light shoots out from the fissures forming.

"I knew it. I knew it!" Angelus says gleefully as him and the two slayers watch the Beast crumble.

A straight concentrated beam of light shoots out of the beast's mouth and destroys the cloud blocking the sun and allowing the light to pour over the city.

Faith lies on the cement floor, her movements slow as she tries to get up and away from Angelus. Buffy kneels down beside her and wraps her arm around Faith's shoulder so she can support her weight, all the while Angelus stares out the window in disgust.

"Aw, crap! You mean killing the Beast really does bring back the sun? I thought that was Angel's retarded fantasy. Oh, well… what are you gonna do?" he whines before shrugging in sudden disinterest.

Buffy grabs Faith and starts to make a hasty retreat, pulling Faith with her toward the ladder.

"Aw, where do you think you two are going? The fun's not over yet." He licks his lips seductively and leers at the two slayers lasciviously. Buffy looks around for an escape route, catching sight of a large loading winch a few feet away. She sets Faith on her feet and hurls it at Angelus. It slides slowly along its rails toward him and he easily side steps it's coming.

"Oh! A swing and a miss, slugger! Sorry—"

The winch keeps sliding until it comes to an old window and smashes through the glass, allowing a huge beam of light to shower down on the two tired slayers, leaving them unreachable as Angelus dives into the shadows for cover. He stands up, brushing himself off and chuckling despite himself.

"God… okay, well, I gotta give you props, Buff. Nice move. Really. I guess we'll just have to take a raincheck on that whole eviscerating you thing. It's just the three of us now. Catch ya later." he winks before melting into the shadows.

"You think he's gone?" Faith wonders cautiously after a few minutes of uninterrupted silence.

"I don't know, but I don't think I could handle sticking around to find out." Buffy coughs nodding toward the ladder. "We should go."

"You hungry?" Faith asks seriously, a flicker of comradeship flashing through her eyes. Buffy purses her lips and nods with a smile. "You know me so well."

"Yeah, well." Faith grins back shrugging before limping along with Buffy toward the exit just as Wesley appears at the top of the ladder.

"Thank heavens you two are alive."

"Glad to see you too, Wes." Faith chuckles as she climbs up, Buffy waiting below just in case. Wesley and Faith start to go and Buffy takes one last glance back toward the shadows, where Angelus shows his face. Buffy braces for a fight, even though the two of them are separated by a beam of sunlight. You can never be too careful.

But Angelus doesn't move, only smiles darkly.

"B? You coming?" Faith shouts from the upper level and Buffy doesn't take her eyes off Angelus.

"Be right up Faith." she yells back, her eyes glued to the vampire lurking in the shadows.

"I'll kill you before I let you hurt anyone again." Buffy says with conviction and Angelus just chuckles lightheartedly.

"Promises, promises." he taunts, keeping his face in human form, knowing the effect it has on her. "Soon, lover." are his last words before she hears him leave. She sighs, walking over to the ladder to meet up with the others. This whole thing is just one of the many welcome back gifts she's gotten since being resurrected. Being broke. Coming back 'wrong'. And now _this_. Well isn't this just fantastic?


	6. Chapter 5

A/N: Well this chapter is even longer than the last one. Hope you're enjoying this. Reviews are greatly appreciated. Thats all and thanks for reading.

* * *

**Carpe Noctum**

_Chapter 5_

Lorne, Fred, Willow and Dawn stand in the Hyperion's courtyard looking up at the blue sunlit sky like a savior when Gunn, Xander and Conner saunter in through the gates.

"Whoo! Check it out. We got sun." Gunn says happily, pointing upward toward the sky. No more beast, that's gotta be somewhat positive right?

"Well, ding-dong,-" Lorne begins to stay as Xander comes to stand beside him.

"The Beast is dead!" Xander finishes enthusiastically and Lorne smiles approvingly at him. He's really starting to like this guy.

"I've never seen anything so beautiful in all my life." Fred says admiringly, keeping her eyes pointed to the sky.

"I'm gonna have to agree with ya on that one Fred." Willow smiles.

"Where are the others?" Dawn wonders worriedly, looking past Gunn to see if Buffy is trailing behind them.

"Yeah, yeah… let's hear the war stories. How'd you bring that monster down?" Lorne asks, practically begging to hear the details. That long without sun and he was about to go insane. He wants to know who exactly he should thank for its return. Maybe he'll serenade them?

"Well, it wasn't us. Not Connor, Xander, and me, anyway." Gunn tells him.

"Yep. We had to escort junior here back after him and Faith had a round." Xander says gesturing toward Conner in amusement. He almost has the desire to ruffle the kids hair.

"They must have fought it. Buffy and Faith. The Beast must have attacked them and they must… it's gotta be." Conner concludes, his face awestruck at the two women and completely disregarding Xander's comment. "Hey, where's Cordy? Does she know?" he queries suddenly and Fred points absently to the stairs, eyes still transfixed on the sky.

"She's up in her room."

Connor bolts inside and takes two steps at a time as he heads up the stairs.

"Hey, what about Angel?" Dawn asks uneasily. She knows how tricky he can be, after all she does have the memories of the last time, no matter if they're fake or not.

"Well, if those girls can take out the Beast, my money says they'll have Angelus hog-tied and back here by dinner time." Gunn shrugs, taking one last look before heading inside. The others eventually following behind. All except Dawn who sighs and takes a seat on the ground. A few minutes go by before she hears someone behind her and she whips around to find Angel's son staring down at her.

"Hi." she manages to say and he silently takes a seat next to her on the ground.

"Hey." he replies simply.

"So? You've got like superpowers right?" Dawn asks curiously, inspecting every inch of the boy in front of her. Now up close she wonders why none of them saw it the moment they laid eyes on him. He obviously was Darla and Angel's child. Dawn could see a little bit of both of them in Conner. Mostly his mother, but as Willow said, he did share that broody look with his father. Father. It gives her the wiggins just thinking about Angel as a father. So she turns to Conner and tilts her head, waiting for an answer she already knows.

"Yep. I guess that's the benefit of having a vampire father. How about you? What's your story?" he questions wholeheartedly. For some reason he's eager to know about Dawn and her lineage. He needs someone to talk to and this girl, with the beautiful blue eyes, just might be the someone he needs.

"Me? Well, I'm just a big ball of energy." she shrugs, giving no more then that. Conner feels his curiosity grow even more and promises himself he'll find out her story eventually.

"Huh." he grunts getting her desire to not say more and watching the wind blow a few strands of Dawn's hair around her face.

"Yep." she replies broadly just as Wesley, Faith, and Buffy stumble into the courtyard and Dawn is up and at her sister's side before he even gets a chance to blink. He gets up and helps Wes bring Faith in.

"What happened? Where's Angel?" Dawn questions as Buffy and Faith sit themselves down on the couch in the lobby. Fred and Willow run and get some bandages as the two slayers recount their previous battle.

"Well now what do we do?" Xander questions, discouraged. "Dead boy's on the lose again and we still have whoever was controlling the beast roaming free."

"We do what we can. We track down Angelus and we catch him. I just need to make a call first." Wes articulates, getting up and padding over to the phone at the counter. He pulls out his address book and punches in the number he needs as Faith and Buffy get taken care of. He'll give them a day or two to rest and then they'll head out, alone. He has a feeling the others wont approve of his methods but its truly the only way.

xxxxxxx

Gun takes two tranquilizers and hands one to Fred then Dawn.

"Meet your new best friend. If super-bad shows up, the sanctuary spell should keep us safe, but—"

"But? There's always a "but." When this is over, can we have a big "but" moratorium?" Fred asks nervously

"Did I mention that the only shots I'm good at involve Tequila? Kidding." Dawn smirks, weighing the tranquilizer in her hand. "You don't think Angelus is planning a repeat performance, do you? I—I mean, he's gotta know we'd be prepared."

"Doesn't mean we drop our guard. If he pops a fang in here, thwack him where it hurts." Gunn advises them and Faith nods in total agreement.

"Yeah, good night not-so-sweet prince." Faith smirks.

"I'm gonna recheck downstairs, make sure he can't creep in through any of the sewer tunnels." he tells them.

"Yeah, if Lilah managed to break and enter—" Fred is startled, she draws her gun on Connor, who chuckles as he comes down the stairs.

"Thought you were more of a Taser girl." Conner points out and Fred turns red with embarrassment.

"Sorry, I…" she starts to apologize but Conner smiles and shakes his head.

"How's Cordy?" Xander interrupts and Conner shrugs.

"You know. Tired, I guess." he explains and Xander puts down the stake he was whittling.

"Maybe I should stop up and che—" Xander says starting toward the stairs, bit Conner puts a hand up to stop him.

"No. She doesn't want to see anyone yet. She just wanted some... soup. Really hot soup." Conner says nervously, walking toward the kitchen.

"Odd bird. And getting birdier." Lorne notes as Conner retreats into the kitchen.

"You don't think he and Cordy are still…" Fred trails off and Dawn, Willow and Xander exchange looks.

"Wait still what?" Xander asks and then it hits him and he almost gags. Conner and Cordy? That's just… wrong. Not natural.

"Yeah." Fred tells him as Dawn and Willow's jaws fall open.

"But they just don't look like they would fit…" Dawn insists and they all turn to her with wide eyes. "Not like that!" she shouts, putting her hand on her forehead.

"You know, it could be the love bug, but I'm not picking up warm fuzzies. Whatever it is, I just can't get a good read on it." Lorne tells them.

"Not much of the warm or the fuzzies going on these days. Why should they be any different."

"He's probably just upset about Faith benching him." Willow reasons, still trying to get rid of the image of Conner and Cory, together.

"Anybody else think maybe that was a humongous mistake?" Gunn questions quietly, sensing it may kind of be a taboo.

"Not unless we want to get Angel back in anything other than a dustpan." Lorne tells him.

"Connor's better off playing nursemaid, or whatever he's doing with Cordy that I really don't want to know about." Fred adds.

"Don't think so." Xander mutters and Dawn pats him on the back while Willow shoots him a sympathetic look.

"Yeah, but Buffy and Faith almost got demolished. They're supposed to be our best chance of getting Angel back, but what if they're not up to it?" Lorne asks uneasily.

"Trust me. Buffy's up for it." Willow assures the demon and Dawn nods.

"And so is Faith." she promises looking down at the tranq gun in her hand as Faith saunters back into the room.

"You ready Gunn?" she asks and he nods at her as Xander looks to Fred and Dawn.

"Alright, now let me show you guys how to work this." Xander says, moving alongside the two of them so he can show them what to do, while Gunn and Faith take off for the basement and Fred and Willow go do some research.

xxxxxxx

"Alright, I'm going to go find an empty room to try that locating spell on Angel's soul again. Maybe it'll work this time."

"Okay, I'll just keep sifting through these books, see if anything useful turns up." Fred says and Willow gathers up a few ingredients before makign her way upstairs. Fred looks through a few of the books in her lap, realizing there is another book she should be looking for. She sets down the dusty books in a pile and goes over to the bookcase, searching for it.

"If I were a Runic transcription guide, I would be…" she scans the shelf and smiles proudly to herself as her finger falls on the binding, "shelved wrong."

"Talking to yourself, Fred?" Angelus asks and Fred spins around to find Angelus in the doorway. "A lot of that going around." he mentions and she tries to stand up a little straighter.

"You can't hurt me. We did a no-demon-violence thingy." she tells him, doing her best to sound smug instead of terrified.

"Oh, the sanctuary spell. Shucks. Oh, wait a minute. I think I— " he stops and pulls out some kind of charmed looking relic from his pocxket, dangling it in front of her. "Oh, yeah, kinda thought you pesky P.I.'s would be humming that old tune, so I picked up a little something'-something'... let's me be as demony as I wanna be." he smirks continuing to twirl it in front of her.

"I don't believe you." she says firmly and he takes the book from her hand, pressing her against the back wall and slamming it beside her head.

"How 'bout now?" he challenges and she swallows deeply.

"What do you want?" she questions, praying silently his face isn't the last thing she sees.

"Maybe I just miss you." he taunts before leaning in and shaking his head. "Well, since you brought it up, let's talk Beastmaster. Whaddaya got?"

"Nothing." Fred tells him, shaking her head.

"Come on, Fred. All this raw material. Brainiac like you. You must have a theory." he says, rifling through the papers on her desk.

"If I did, you're the last person I'd tell." she replies boldly and Angelus shrugs, walking up to her desk and snatching up a stack of papers.

":Well, all right then. I guess I'll figure it out myself, huh? Let's see. I'll take these. And this. Thanks for nothing." he says sarcastically, picking up one last book and turning to her menacingly.

"I do know one thing. You're out of your league. What you're up against—he'll make you its bitch just like the Beast. So, if you're gonna kill me, get it over with." Fred says through her teeth, before focusing on the charm he's holding. "Made in China?" she questions dubiously, before grabbing a glass pitcher from her desk and smashing it over the vampires head. She picks up her tranq gun and shoots at him, but misses. She watches the dart hit the wall and Angelus run through the door. She jumps over the debris that's scattered across her floor and follows him out. Once they reach the lobby, Fred tries to make another shot, only to hit Lorne instead.

"Lorne!" she shouts apologetically as Angelus leaps onto the balcony overhead. Fred lifts up the barrel of her gun again to shoot, but Angelus blocks the shot with the book he stole from the office.

"Can't beat a good book." he quips just as Fred goes to pull the trigger gain. But when he finger pulls back and an empty thud is heard Angelus grins smugly. "Too bad. I was just starting to have fun."

"Why stop now?" Conner questions and he brings his fist down only to be knocked clear of the balcony by some kind of force field.

"Connor!" Dawn shouts running over to his side and keeling down to help him up.

"Well, isn't that interesting." Angelus comments lightly, before jumping down from the balcony and throwing the dart he pulls out of the book, in front of Fred's feet.

"Nice try, Fred. You think about how close you came to stopping me when I'm slaughtering all your friends." he tells her as he saunters out of the Hyperion.

Outside, Faith, Wesley and Buffy walk through the garden just as Angelus emerges out side.

"We track him, we find him, we—"

"Get your asses kicked? I dunno, wild guess." Angelus mocks and Buffy launches herself at him, kicking him to the ground. Wes aims his tranq gun at him but Angelus shoves Buffy into Wesley and Faith, knocking the gun to the ground. He stalks over to Wesley and grabs him by the throat turning toward the two slayers.

"Sucky spell, huh? You think it'd at least go to the sidewalk." Angelus says and Buffy clenches her fists.

"Let him go. This is between you and me." Buffy spits through her teeth.

"It's never just between you and me, Buffy. Wes'll always be in the middle." he tells her. Faith's eyes are trained on Wes and Angelus turns to her. "That's it. Do the math. Can you get to me before I snap his neck? You still that fast? Wes is just dying to find out, aren't you, Wes?"

"Do it." Wesley tells them and Buffy bites her lip in indecision.

"That's it. Come on. Do it. Take your shot, and save the world. Come on. What're you waiting for?" Angelus asks and Faith eyes widen. He turns to Buffy. "It's all about choices, Buff. The ones we make, and the ones we don't. Oh, and the consequences. Those are always fun. Don't worry about good old Wes. What's one more body to us? Come on, where's my girl?" he taunts and Buffy steels herself.

"Faith!" Gunn shouts as he runs outside and throws her a tranquilizer gun and points his own at Angelus. Angelus releases Wes from his grip and takes off in the opposite direction. Faith raises her gun and shoots twice, missing both times as the vampires figure disappears into the night.

away. Faith shoots and misses twice before Angelus is gone. Buffy and Gunn run to catch up with him but Faith stays rooted to the spot. Wesley looks to her and points toward Buffy and Gunn.

"Go!" he tells her harshly and she jogs over to Buffy's side.

"He's gone." Gunn says dejectedly as they all stare down the empty street.

xxxxxxx

There's a knock at Cordelia's door and she has a pretty good feeling its Conner so she pads over to the door and opens it without checking. Of course its not Conner who stands at her door, his hands shoved into his pocket and his expression sheepish.

"Hey, Cordy." Xander says goofily.

"Xander." she lets out in surprise, something stirs in her chest but someone pushes it down and out of sight.

"How have you been? We haven't spoken since… its been a while." Xander concludes, nodding awkwardly. He isn't really sure why he came up but for some reason he felt he had to. He _wanted _to.

"Higher power. How about you?" Cordelia questions, sincerely curious about his whereabouts and latest hell mouthy adventures.

"Dating an ex-demon." he replies shortly.

"Huh." Cordelia nods, feeling a strange well of jealousy rise up in her. It must be that Anya girl from senior year, the one Xander took to prom as a last resort.

"Yeah I know." he sighs pushing his way into her room and sitting down on her bed. He pats the space next to him and she willingly goes to sit beside him.

"It's just she was nice and she loved sex. Like really loved it actually. And she was on our side, until I left her at the alter." Xander sighs, the lines of his face setting in weariness.

"You got married?" Cordelia screeches, her fingers grasping the blanket tightly.

"Almost. Weren't you listening?" he demands a strange edge in his voice that she doesn't remember him having before. She visibly sighs with relief at the news though. She doesn't know what's happening with her. She has all these plans but she didn't expect Xander to come back into her life. And since when did she care? Xander cheated on her. With Willow of all people. Willow who is not even straight anymore. But she looks over at Xander and sees his face transform into that dopey grin she's missed so much and she cant help but smile. She can worry about taking over the world later.

xxxxxxx

"And you're sure you're feeling better?" Dawn demands and Buffy rolls her eyes as she pulls her boots on.

"I'm fine. Now go and do something with yourself I've got some important things to talk about with Faith and Wes." she lies easily avoiding eye contact as she zips up her boots and adjusts her pants.

"Its just.." Dawn sits next to Buffy on her bed. "Ever since Willow tried to destroy the world you said you wanted to see me grow up and that you were okay, but it hasn't seemed like your okay. At least not completely anyway."

"Well, Dawn, these things take time. I'm not going to get better in a day or so." Buffy tells her sister harshly and Dawn's face falls ever so slightly. She should have never said that.

"I know that. I just, want you to be okay." she mumbles and Buffy takes a deep breath before going on.

"I know and I will be. One day, soon. Until then were just going to have to take one step at a time."

"Okay." Dawn says resignedly, nodding at her sister before heading downstairs to hang out with Xander and Lorne.

Buffy sighs to herself and turns to the mirror in her room. She watches her reflection and tries to construct her features carefully. She hates lying to Dawn, to all of them. But she just doesn't want Dawn or her best friends worrying about her anymore then they already are, its not Dawn's or Xander's or Willow's burden to bear. Its her own. Buffy has to deal with not being okay. She has to deal with not wanting to be around all the time. She closes her eyes and glimpses of heaven dance behind her lids. Bright and peaceful. She wishes that the powers that be would have at least had half a mind to make her forget. Forget about how good it felt to be finished. To be loved. She almost reaches out to touch the sky but instead she opens her eyes and goes to meet up with Faith and Wesley. With one final miserable glance toward the mirror Buffy sets off toward Wesley's office. Because this conversation between the three of them needs to be a private one.

xxxxxxx

Dawn scrunches up her nose as Xander and Lorne get into an advanced conversation about comic books and Angel's love of Barry Manilow. She heaves a sigh before launching herself off the couch and meandering outside in the sunlight. She's worried, well, that's an understatement. She's terrified. Angelus has had a powerful effect on Buffy ever since he made his first appearance back when Buffy turned 17. Dawn knows that Angel and even Angelus wield this power over her sister. A power not even Riley, Parker or Spike ever came close to hoping to have. Buffy's been fragile ever since being resurrected, Dawn knows that, so its completely logical for her to be scared. She just wants her sister to be fine again. She wants everything back to the way it was before.

"Hey." Conner says and she spins around and squeals. "God, what is with you super beings always sneaking up on me?" she squawks, laying a hand across her heart. "Warn a girl would ya?"

"Sorry." Conner says, shrugging sheepishly. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"I wasn't scared." Dawn replies indignantly. Conner quirks an eye brow and Dawn sighs. "Okay I'm scared." she seems to catch her slip and opens her mouth to correct herself but Conner interrupts before she has the chance.

"What of?" he questions curiously.

Dawn thinks for a moment, she could deny she ever said it and throw some kind of insult at him. But she kind of needs someone to talk to so she just goes for it.

"Its not what I'm scared of, its who I'm scared _for_." Dawn says expecting Conner to know what she's saying. Conner just sits patiently and waits for more. "You do know about Buffy and Angel's history don't you?"

"Love lost and all that, right?" Conner asks uninterestedly but Dawn shakes her head and laughs without humor.

"Boy, you really are clueless, huh?" Dawn laughs sadly.

"Yeah well I don't make it a habit of asking my vampire father about his life." Conner retorts coldly, turning his head away.

"Maybe you should." Dawn replies furiously, her features contorted in anger as she stares up at Conner.

"And why's that?" Conner wonders sarcastically.

"Because maybe then you'd understand him better." Conner simply scoffs at the idea and Dawn shakes her head. "Why do you hate him so much?"

"It's a long story." Conner says dismissively but Dawn refuses to give up that easily.

"I'm all ears." she replies and Conner looks at her perplexedly. No one ever wants to know his side, or anything about him for that matter. The first person who he felt ever cared was Cordelia, hence why she's now pregnant with his child, but this beautiful girl standing in front of him wants to know, wants to listen and he willingly obliges with his tale. What's the worst that could happen?

xxxxxxx

Buffy, Faith, and Wesley quietly slip out of the Hyperion and go to find what it is they're looking for without suspicion. When they reach the demon bar they were looking for Buffy gladly assists Faith in the beatign of a lowly demon, who might happen to know about the whereabouts of Angelus.

"Come on. I bruise easy." the demon whines and Buffy pulls him up by his collar.

"Gee, I wonder what color you'll be when I'm done." she quips, slamming his head on the bar.

"Ow!" he screams just as a listless vampire comes at Wes from behind. He whips around and aims his shotgun at the vampires face.

"Let's not, shall we?" he prompts and the vamp puts his hands up and smiles.

"It's cool, dude. No worries." he says and Wesley turns back toward Faith and Buffy.

"I don't remember anything. I was drunk. I thought she was 18." the demon insists and Faith rolls her eyes.

"I'm gonna work real hard on the not understanding that, lumpy." Buffy tells him easily.

"Frances." the demon corrects, but this time Faith comes over and slams the demon's face into the bar.

"Break his head open. See if there's any candy." another vampire shouts gleefully and the demon scowls.

"Hey, what do I look like, a piñata?" he questions and Buffy smiles.

"Ooh, let's find out." she says as Faith goes to slam his head again.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Ease off the contusion. What do you want to know?" he wonders.

"Where's Angelus?" Faith questions.

"Who?" the demon asks innocently and Faith punches him. "Ow!" he complains.

"We've been breathing stale beer and blood half the night in piss holes like this." Faith tells the demon.

"Guess where it led us." Wes suggests.

"Look, I'm telling ya, I don't know nothing. On my mother's tumor." he promises as he notices a demon sneaking up in the trio. "And even if I did, I'd never yak to a couple of fleshbags that are about to get their internal organs sucked out of their—" he tells the cockily just before Wes, without looking, shoots the demon trying to sneak up on them in the face.

"Strom demon. Face should grow back." Wes says, cocking his gun. "Eventually."

"Think yours will?" Faith asks challengingly and the demon gulps loudly.

"Oh, that Angelus. Yeah, in here all the time running his mouth. 'Look at me, I'm so evil.' Real jackass. Never liked him. I'm on your side." the demon tells them and Buffy rolls her eyes causing Faith to shove the demon's face back into the bar.

"Where is he?" Wesley questions as the demon tries to recover.

"I don't know. I swear. He was in here earlier giving us the blah blah blah, and then he started mumbling to himself like a big pretty freak, and then...he slipped into the back."

"Back where?" Buffy inquires and the demon points fearfully to the back room.

Buffy pulls back the beads that lead to the back room, Faith and Wesley following behind her.

"What the f—" Faith starts when a vampire leaps at them, knockign Wes down. The vampire chokes Faith but Buffy grabs it by the back of its neck and throws it to the floor. Faith moves in and stakes it. Buffy smiles at her before looking to Wesley.

"You OK?" Buffy asks, offering her hand to help Wes up.

"Dandy." he replies as Faith wipes the dust off herself and Buffy helps him up.

xxxxxxx

Connor sighs as he stares at himself in the main bathroom's vanity mirror. He knits his eyebrows together attempting to make his nose bumpy. When it doesn't work he growls at the mirror, attempting to make fangs descend, but nothing happens. He pushes the skin of his forehead together with his fingertips as he bares his teeth. Doing his best to see any demon like features emerge. Still, nothing happens. Dawn clears her throat as she steps into the room and Conner straightens up and pretends to be looking normally in the mirror.

"You know, most teenagers check for pimples." Dawn tells him jokingly and he shakes his head in embarrassment.

"I'm not— I wasn't—" he stutters, trying to come up with a good explanation.

"You tried to take him. You attacked Angelus inside the hotel and got spanked by the anti-demon spell so now you think you're a demon." Dawn rambles and Conner looks at the floor insecurely.

"I'm not a demon." he mutters and Dawn closes the bathroom door behind her.

"You know, not all demon's are bad. There was this one demon back in Sunnydale he's really nice actually and then there's Lorne. Not that I'm saying you're a demon or anything…"

"It's not the same." Conner tells her, as he leans against the bathroom counter.

"Why not?" Dawn questions, leaning beside him.

"I mean, why— Why do I— Dawn, I don't even know what I am." he looks up at her frantically and she steps in front of him.

"I do." she assures him, putting her hands on his shoulders. "You're a great guy who fights with the good guys. What more is there?" she questions softly, then chuckles bitterly. "Look don't feel bad. I'm not even a real person. Just some mass ball of energy that a couple of monks made look like a teenage girl." her arms fall from his shoulders and she shrugs.

"Really?" Conner wonders and she nods.

"Yep, got the fake memories to prove it." she tells him, gesturing to her head. Conner moves closer to her and looks into her eyes.

"You look pretty real to me." he says quietly as he tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.

xxxxxxx

Faith catches sight of a woman passed out on a couch in the middle of the room and she moves to her side.

"Hey, I'm gonna get you out of here." she tells the woman as Wesley and Buffy survey the room. Wesley picks up a syringe fro mthe floor and calls Faith and Buffy over.

"Can you walk?" Faith questions as her eyes take in the track marks that cover the girl's arms.

"No, but I can fly." the girl giggles and a horrified Faith, turns to Wes.

"What did they do to her?" she asks but before Wes can answer Buffy beats him to it.

"She did it to herself. They shoot up, the vampires feed, use 'em like a filter." Buffy spits as memories of Riley and the vampire he let feed off him cloud her mind.

"I've read the effects can be quite intoxicating...for both of them." Wesley says quietly, noticing the look in Buffy's eye and taking it as a personal demon involving something of this nature. They're all quiet but the young girl looks to Faith and smiles.

"Hey, you're pretty. You wanna make out?" she wonders and Buffy snatches the girl by her shirt and shoves her roughly up against the wall.

"There was a vampire in here earlier. Tall, dark hair—" Buffy starts to say but the girl's eyes start to drift and Buffy grabs her face. "Listen!"

"OK. God! What's your issue?" the girl whines and Buffy takes a deep breath.

"Tall, dark hair, talking to himself." she prompts and the girl rolls her head.

"Let go." the girl replies, squirming from under Buffy's grip. Before she can stop herself she nails the girl in the face.

"Did you see him?" she demands.

"No, I didn't. Stop it, you're hurting me!" the girl cries and Buffy releases the girl from her grip.

"She doesn't know anything." Buffy says walking over toward the door.

"Maybe not." Wesley says before pulling out a knife and stabbing the girl in the shoulder. The girl gasps in pain and Buffy and Faith turn to Wesley.

"What are you doing, Wes?" Faith screams and Wes turns to her angrily.

"Shut up!" he yells, turning back to the girl. "The tracks on your arms—you've been here, what, two or three days straight?"

The girl doesn't answer and Wesley twists the knife in her wound.

"Answer me!"

"Yeah, God, stop! Yes four—four days." she admits, choking on the breaths she's taking.

"Then you must've seen the vampire we're looking for." he tells her and she nods.

"Angelus, I saw him. He, uh…" the girl trails off.

"Where is he?"

"I don't know." the girl insists and Wesley punches her. "I don't know! Please stop!"

"They said he was talking to himself. What was he saying?"

"I don't know. It wa—It was like he was talking to someone else. It was all rain of fire a-and pulling strings and a soul. That's all I heard. Please stop. It hurts." she pleads and Wes pulls the blade from her shoulder. Faith runs to the girls side.

"Have you totally lost it?" Faith shouts and Wesley shakes his head.

"I avoided the main arteries. She'll live, if that's what you call this. Whatever's controlling the Beast—it's made contact with Angelus." Wesley tells them, throwing his shotgun over his shoulder and heading for the exit.

"So, what? Torturing humans part of the new makeover?" Buffy asks sarcastically and Wes shrugs.

"I did what I had to do because you two couldn't."

"I hit her." Buffy articulates and Wes turns to her.

"You think that's something new to her? You know how these things are. They like the pain as long as it isn't damaging. Maybe that will give her a grip on reality and she'll get the hell out of there."

Buffy considers Wesley's words while Faith shakes her head vigorously. "You crossed it back there, Wesley! What you did back there is not —"

"Oh, you have a problem with torture now? I seem to recall a time when you rather enjoyed it." Wesley points out, his eyes boring into Faith's.

"Yeah, well, it's not me anymore. You know that." Faith mumbles and Wes moves his shotgun a little on his shoulder.

"Nice to have this along, just in case. I remember what you did to me, Faith. The broken glass, the shallow cuts so I would remain conscious." he tells her, gesturing toward his gun.

"You think I'd hurt you again?" Faith asks sadly and Wes shakes his head.

"This the part where you tell me you've turned a new leaf, found God, inner peace? We both know that isn't true. You haven't changed. You can't."

"Wes…" Faith begins, but before she finishes she throws up her hands and walks away.

"Because you're sick." Wes shouts and Buffy's eyes widen ad Faith stops in her tracks. "You've always been sick." Wes says disgustedly.

"Wesley!" Buffy shouts but he ignores her warning.

"It goes right down to the roots rotting your soul. That's why your friends turned on you in Sunnydale, why the Watchers' Council tried to kill you. No one trusts you, Faith."

"That's not true Faith!" Buffy insists as Faith lets Wesley's words infiltrate her mind.

"You're a rabid dog who should've been put down years ago!" Wesley jeers and Faith runs toward him and pushes him against the chain link fence behind them, taking his gun and pointing it at him.

"Faith, stop it right now!" Buffy yells, running over to their side.

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it? It's what you'll need to beat him." Wesley says seriously and Faith glares at him.

"No." she replies, handing the gun over to Buffy.

"You have to be willing to take it all the way, Faith."

"I can't risk killing Angel. Not after what he's done for me. Not when Buffy still cares about him. There's got to be another way." she whispers, turning back toward the hotel.

"We still need to talk. There's another factor we haven't discussed yet." Wes says regrettably and Faith and Buffy exchange a look before fallign into step with Wesley.

No one's the wiser when they come back an hour later, a small brown bag tucked away until the time is right.


	7. Chapter 6

A/N:Well hi again. Here's chapter six. Sorry it took longer than usual to post. But I guarentee its definitely worth the wait. Any typos, just tell me. As usual, feedback is very much appreciated. Actually I'd be overjoyed if you left a review. I really like hearing back from people, telling my that they like what I'm doing and what I could do better. So feel free to drop a review even if its a quick one. Anyway, Enjoy.

* * *

**Carpe Noctum**

_Chapter 6_

Faith grunts as she rolls to the ground, Gunn standing over her, fist poised. She swings her legs around and knocks his feet from under him, sending him crashing to the ground.

"Alright, alright. I give. But just this once because I cant let it get around I got beat by a girl." Gunn jokes as he starts to get up. Faith extends her arm and he gladly takes it. Faith laughs and shakes her head.

"Your secret's safe with me." she promises mockingly, punching him in his arm lightly as they make their way to the Hyperion's makeshift kitchen.

"But damn girl, I gotta say, you got some killer moves." he praises, as he starts to whip up something for them to eat.

"Yeah, comes with the gig, I guess." Faith shrugs before gesturing to Gunn as he takes out a pan and starts to make them omelets. "Huh, so a good fighter and a good cook. Well aren't you just full of surprises." Faith points out, a wicked grin on her features. He just shrugs and smiles back. "what else don't I know about you?" she wonders and his gaze suddenly darkens as he remembers his past deeds. Mainly one.

"Maybe that you and Angel aren't the only ones who've killed someone and regret it." he says deeply before turning back to the eggs. Faith feels her heart swell with sympathy and understanding. She seems to be getting a lot of that lately. She supposes its not that bad, she could be on a murderous rampage. But she's glad she's on the right side. She's also glad Gunn decided to make eggs because as soon as they're done they both eat and fall back into that comfortable banter that keeps her mind off what's to come, if only for a few minutes.

xxxxxxx

Xander groans holding his aching stomach as he polishes off another fish sandwich he just retrieved from the kitchen a few minutes earlier. Its not exactly his choice meal but its food and that's good enough for him. Everything is so tense in the Hyperion and with everything about to go down he found himself outside bathing in the sunlight. Cordelia is sitting beside him out in the garden the sun shining down on them. He isn't sure how he got her to come outside, she's been cooped up in her room for days, but here they are laughing and joking as if things hadn't happened the way they did back in Sunnydale almost 3 years ago. Xander grabs Cordelia's hips and she shrieks and squirms against him.

"Ew! You have fish hands!" she squeals, as he pokes her sides, childishly. He stops once she's positioned on his lap and that electric charge that used to spark between them makes itself known again. They move closer and closer until each of them can feel the others breath fanning across their faces. Anya is nothing but a distant memory to Xander as he cups Cordelia's cheek and gives her a bruising, passionate kiss. At first she's unresponsive, almost pulling away from him in disgust, but then something, the real Cordy takes over, and she's kissing him back with everything she can muster from the small corner of her body she's kept hidden in. Their impromptu make out session goes on for a few minutes until Cordelia pulls away and rubs a hand across her mouth.

"I…" she takes off before Xander can get a word in edgewise. Leaving him alone, immensely confused and suddenly craving something other than food. Something in the form of a headstrong brunette with amazing curves, who's name happens to rhyme with Schmordelia.

xxxxxxx

Buffy and Faith round the corner of a tall bookshelf to find Wesley facing off with Angelus. He cocks his gun and fires a round directly at Angelus' chest but he's too quick and ducks just in time.

"Gotta do better than that, Wes." Angelus taunts, shoving Wesley through a window and snatching his gun away from him, turning to Buffy and Faith menacingly.

"Uh-oh." Angelus laughs. "Vampire with a gun." he says as Buffy and Faith take off in opposite directions. "I see why he likes this thing." Angelus observes as he takes off after Faith. He finally catches up with her, pointing the barrel to Faith's face. "You really have gone soft now, haven't you? Hey, you remember that time you tried to get Angel to kill you because you felt all weepy over being such a bad girl?" No reply. "Do you still feel that way?" Angelus asks and Faith looks away, waiting for Buffy to spring. "Do you still wanna die?" Angelus questions and Faith replies softly.

"No."

"What's that?" the vampire shouts.

"No." she say, firmly.

"I cant hear you."

"No!" she screams and he smirks at her.

"Too bad, because you're gonna." he pulls the trigger again and again, only he realizes its empty. "But not like this."

"Damn right." Buffy tells him, kicking him in the back and sending him sprawling to the floor. He quickly picks himself up and turns to her with a smile.

"Looks like we got a live one." Angelus announces as he punches her in the face with as much force as he can muster. "For now." he adds as Buffy stumbles backward. He jabs her in the ribs and she grunts as she tries to regain her footing. "A little tired sweetie? You wanna take a break?" Angelus kicks her in the stomach and Buffy rolls onto the ground. Before she can even get up, he's at her side kicking her again. "Now this is just disappointing. You never used to bleed so easy."

"Screw you." she says through clenched teeth and a familiar glint comes into his eyes.

"Maybe after. I like my girls to lie still." Angelus winks before calling out to Wesley. "Hey buddy, how's it going in there?" Angelus lets out a bark of laughter when the ex watcher doesn't reply. "Good old Wes. Always count on him to tackle a bad situation and make it worse. I mean, hey, look how you turned out. After Giles failed miserably at being your watcher they sent someone else and he couldn't even get the job done. But then again, I guess he didn't really have much to work with now, did he?"

Faith delivers a roundhouse kick to Angelus' head and he falls unceremoniously.

"Save the head trip, GQ. Wes told me about this and Buffy knows better then to let you get under her skin. Gave us what we needed to scratch you out." Faith retorts confidently as Buffy rolls to her feet.

"Oh ho. Don't tell me. The rousing stiff upper lip speech. Rah rah. Good over evil. Do what must be done. Hang in there kitten its almost Friday. Is that what the scraggly little ponce armed you with to fight the big bad boogey man?" Angelus wonders as Buffy smiles mischievously at him.

"Yeah, and this." Buffy quips, whipping out a knife and shoving it into his chest.

"There's me girl. I knew she was in there somewhere, dying to come out and play." he chokes out as she pulls the blade out and stabs him again.

Buffy takes it out again and throws it up into the air, pounding on him until it comes back down and she plunges it back into his chest. This time Angelus knocks her backward with a wave of his hand and Faith moves in on him. She starts to pound on him furiously before he kicks her in the crotch and disappears onto the scaffolding in one smooth move. She scours the place looking for him.

"That hurt baby? Kinda liked it. There's all that anger you've been bottling it up. Don't be afraid to let it out dearie."

"Shut up." Faith spits as she looks to Buffy who is trying to get up from her place behind the bookshelf.

"Come on Faith, you're not even trying. Or is that why you really came back, huh? Not enough to punish yourself in prison? Is that it? Still looking for someone to beat the bad out of you?" Angelus punches her and she tumbles to the ground, but she quickly regroups and gets on her feet. "You know what the funny thing is darling? I could beat you to death and it wouldn't make a difference." Angelus explains, punching her so hard she hurls backward toward the bookshelf where Buffy is.

"Nothing will ever change who you are, Faith. You're just like me." Angelus laughs and Faith runs out from behind the bookcase and launches herself at him. She sends a series of kicks and punches the vampires way. Angelus merely smiles. Faith gets off him and shakes her head violently.

"No! You're wrong. I'm different now. I'm not like you." she says, more to herself then to him. She wont let herself be like him.

Angelus kicks Faith's feet from under her and sends her falling to the bookstore's carpeted floor. He snatches her before she has a chance to get up and vamps out.

"You will be." he says through his teeth before pulling back to sink his teeth into Faith's neck. His fangs are barely even a centimeter away when Buffy knocks Angelus to the ground and steps in front of Faith, making sure Angelus doesn't get the chance to even graze her skin with his sharp teeth.

"Aw, how sweet. Standing up for your fellow slayer. Very noble of you, Buff. That's okay. You taste better anyway." he confesses, grabbing Buffy by the shoulders and sinking his fangs into the same place his counterpart did all those years ago. He smiles blissfully against her neck until her blood finally flows down his throat. He coughs and extracts his fangs from her neck, wiping his mouth and looking toward Buffy, his eyes wide with fear.

"What... did you do?"

"_You got to do better than that, Wes." Angelus teases and Buffy and Faith crouch down behind a bookcase. Faith pulls out the syringe from her boot and poises to inject it when Buffy snatches it away._

"_What are you doing, B?" Faith demands in an angry whisper. She was ready to go. Yeah, Gunn was nice but he could never make her forget. Besides, she figures Buffy deserves to live way more then she does anyway. Fair's fair. Buffy ignores her and plunges the syringe into her arm. This is _her _time. Angel gets his soul, his son and his life back. She gets dead. It's a win win._

"_Come on, I'll give you one more." Angelus offers Wes and the drugs flow freely into Buffy's blood._

"_Strike three." Angelus laughs, the sound of shattering glass sounding around them. Buffy and Faith round the corner of a tall bookcase just as Wesley falls through the window._

"You—you sp— You spiked…" Angelus stammers before passing out at Faith's feet.

"You two all right?" Wesley asks in concern as he finds his way back into the room and both slayers nod.

"Yeah, I'm—" Buffy slurs before falling to the ground. Wesley looks over to Faith in confusion and her arms fly up as her face portrays her own bewilderment. Wesley bends down and pulls Buffy into his arms while Faith drags Angel's body to the car, the ex watcher still unclear and uneasy about what happened while he was out of commission. He sighs as he lays Buffy's body next to Angel's in the backseat and marvels at how they immediately find one another, leaning into each other as if it were a natural occurrence. How even as Angelus they're connection is strong and they are still drawn to one another. Polar opposites, negative and positive. He's mesmerized by it.

"Wes. We gotta go." Faith grunts from the passengers side, snapping Wesley out of his reverie. He slams the car door shut and trots over to the drivers side. Ready to punch the gas and get to the Hyperion as fast as he can.

xxxxxxx

Fred sighs as she flips through yet another useless book on rituals and incantations involving human essences and souls. Her and Willow have been researching at the front desk all day and they haven't found a single shred of information that can help them retrieve Angel's soul from whatever is keeping it out of the ether.

"So I never got a chance to ask, though I don't think you would have kept quiet about it, did the locater spell work?" Fred asks as she plops down at her desk and puts a pile of dusty books near her tranq gun and refills. So yeah, she's overcompensating a bit. Its not likely Angelus will show up again, but its better to be safe than sorry.

"Nah, something is blocking the way. I'm trying to come up with some sort of solution or way around it, although its kinda hard." Willow shrugs. "But I'll get it eventually. How about you? How are you?"

"Oh you know, just dandy, besides the fact I totally let Angelus get away."

"Not your fault."

"I should have had him."

"Fred, you got out alive, so—"

"Because he let me. Why not? All the little mouse could do was squeak at him." Fred sighs, looking down at her feet.

"Then next time Minnie'll take a chunk out of his cheese. Look, if you really think you did something wrong, don't do it again. That simple." Willow smiles reassuringly.

"Is it?" Fred questions and Willow thinks about her struggle with magic and how complicated things can get at times, before rethinking her answer. She can see where Fred is coming from.

"Sometimes." Willow says quietly, attempting to close herself off and Fred catches on to her change in mood.

"All we ever do is turn away. I wonder how any of us ever communicate with each other." Fred's brows furrow and Willow finds herself agreeing. Fred sighs as she thinks about their situation. She wishes maybe that those powers that be Angel's always talking about would just cut them a break for once. Lord, knows they need it.

She thinks maybe the PTB might have come through as soon as she sees Gunn and Xander come through the Hyperion's doors, a passed out Angelus, dead weight in their arms.

"Connor!" Gunn calls out as him and Xander carry Angelus to the middle of the lobby, Fred and Willow trialing behind them. "Pick up your tranq gun. I don't know how much time we have. Connor!" Gunn shouts again as Fred steadily holds the tranquilizer gun at the ready and pointed at Angelus' limp body.

"What happened?" Willow asks as Xander and Gunn deposit Angelus on the floor. She finds it highly ironic how corpse like the vamp looks.

"Wes called, we went." Gunn replies simply.

"Where is he? Where's Buffy and Faith?" Fred questions looking back up toward the door.

"Gimme steel shackles." Gunn requests, Willow grabs the shackles from Fred and hands them to him. "All I had was rope in the truck."

"And rope just isn't what it used to be." Xander quips as he helps clamp the shackles onto Angel's wrists gingerly.

"What's going on?" Conner asks as him and Dawn emerge on the balcony.

"Get down here now." Gunn orders before turning back to Fred. "Leg irons too."

"They found him." Conner says to Dawn as he hustles down the stairs, Dawn in tow.

"Well, what is all the—- oh god, you got Angelus. Bravo or should I say Brava? Wesley, Buffy, and Faith. Where are they?" Lorne asks, his head swiveling to look for them. His mojo may be a little messed up but them not being present, definitely sending off warning signals. Dawn seems to pick up on his silent panic and looks to Xander, who looks away and continues to help chain Angelus up.

"Get him downstairs." Wesley commands as him and Faith support Buffy's weight.

"What happened to Buffy?" Conner asks in confusion, his worry radar shooting up against his own request. He blames Dawn. Her and her compelling stories.

"She captured Angel." is Faith's bitter reply and everyone can tell something isn't right.

"God, what did he do to her?" Fred asks as she notices the blood dripping down the side of her neck.

"Is she going to be okay?" Dawn asks frantically, tears welling up in her eyes. Conner grabs her hand comfortingly and Lorne rubs soothing circles on her back. Conner can tell that Dawn loves her sister more than anything in the world, even without the stories she's told and the reverent tone she used to tell them. Its clear on the young girls face. The worry, the fear. All obvious and plain on her beautiful face.

"Gunn?" Wes raises and Gunn nods.

"We got it." Gunn confirms.

"She looks not well." Lorne points out and Conner stares at Buffy's unconscious form with sadness.

"She gonna be—"

"Wake up, kid. I need you here." Gunn grunts at Conner as him and Xander start to lug Angelus down to the basement. Conner nods and engulfs Dawn in a hug before taking off behind them.

"Find somewhere we can put her." Wes tells the others as he sweeps Buffy into his arms in one quick motion and follows Lorne up the stairs. He carries Buffy down the hall to an empty room. Willow, Faith, Dawn, Fred and Lorne accompany him as he sets Buffy's limp body down gently on the bed.

Lorne brushes a few strands away from Buffy's sweating forehead before he sees her arm and the discolored area where she injected herself with the needle. Lorne turns to Wesley for an explanation but the ex-watcher simply stares straight ahead at Buffy lying in the bed motionlessly. He knows what happened. Faith told him what she did. That doesn't mean he likes it or wants to be the one to explain it to everyone.

Dawn is sitting in the corner, tears dripping down from her eyes as Willow and Xander try to comfort her and keep themselves from breaking down at the same time.

Fred brings in a bowl of fresh water and a dry towel before sitting down on the edge of the bed. She slowly dips the towel into the basin and carefully wipes away the crimson colored blood stained on Buffy's skin. Fred winces as she dabs at the two puncture holes in Buffy's neck, the ones that seem to over lap two other bite marks that are scarred on the curve of her neck. She wonders how many vampires have taken a bite out of the young slayer and how she's still alive with all the blood loss. She hopes she's able to ask her about it some day. Because she may not know Buffy that well, but even she can tell that the world without her in it will be a dark and dismal place.

xxxxxxx

Conner and Gunn do their best to secure Angelus in his cage as Xander stands by with his tranq gun and Conner glares at Angelus' unconscious form.

"He fed from her. There's blood on his breath." he whispers in disgust, anger boiling in the pit of his stomach. Xander's features harden and he now can see that he was serious about everyone wanting to kill his father at one time, because the deep hatred he sees on Xander's face could only have been constructed with time and effort.

Xander clenches his fist and does his best to keep himself from beating Angel to a pulp. Not that anyone would really object right now, and he would totally do it… if only Buffy would allow it. But he knows that when, and he refuses to say if because Buffy not waking up, no he cant fathom it. _When _Buffy wakes up she'll be majorly pissed at him for beating Angel up when he wasn't conscious, especially since he's already in under their control and about to be re-ensouled.

Angelus twitches and starts to mutter under his breath causing Gunn, Xander, and Conner to jump back.

"Kill you...kill...you…" Angelus mumbles. They take a few careful steps back, their tranquilizer guns aimed at Angelus' chest.

xxxxxxx

Fred unwraps a bandage and begins to carefully press it on Buffy's wound when she twitches and starts to mumble.

"Get you out.…" she mutters and Fred, Wes, Lorne, Dawn, Faith, and Willow look at her helplessly.

"She's not making any sense." Faith sighs sitting down on Buffy's other side.

"And speaking of sense, have you gone on permanent sabbatical from yours? Tell me you did not shoot that girl full of junk, and then feed her to Angelus." Lorne accuses, his voice thick with anger, a rarity in the usually pleasant demon.

"You let her do what?" Dawn demands reproachfully, turning to Faith fully ready to place the blame.

"Don't look at me I was supposed to do it but B, she took the syringe from me." Faith tells them sadly, shaking her head and mentally chastising herself. If only she'd been quicker.

"It was her choice. Buffy knew the risks." Wesley says emotionally as he tries to keep a cool head. Dawn starts to sob harder and even Willow lets out a strangled cry. She had fooled them all.

"Aw, she couldn't! Wesley, I know what that drug does to people. Especially when they super-size the doses to make sure they really get the job done. And you damn well know it too." Lorne growls halfheartedly, his attention now focused on the girl laying unconscious in her bed.

xxxxxxx

"A coma you said?" Cordelia attempts to confirm. If Buffy is down for the count that leaves one less bitch to deal with. Down side: she still has Faith and Willow to worry about.

"Yeah, that's what it looked like when Wesley and Faith brought her in." Conner says distractedly as he fights with himself internally. Stay with Cordelia or go and comfort Dawn, he's really leaning toward the ladder.

"Like one slayer hasn't pulled that one before." Cordelia accuses, crossing her arms and chuckling evilly. It is true. But Cordy's smile falters and she wonders how Xander is taking the downfall of his beloved Buffy. She almost wants to go comfort him, but thinks better of it.

"I don't think she was faking." Conner insists, interrupting Cordelia's mental lapse of judgment. She shakes her head and focuses on the task at hand.

"So the slayer snagged Angelus? He's in the hotel? Is he locked up tight in the cage?"

"Don't worry, Cordy. I'll protect our family." Conner tells her as he's assaulted with the face of an named child and Dawn's beautiful blue eyes. He'll do anything to protect her.

"That's sweet." Cordelia coos, before getting serious. "Is he guarded?

"Buffy really did a number on him. Dawn's really upset the whole thing." Conner says with sympathy slightly leaning toward the door.

"What the hell is it with you and Dawn! As if I didn't see the way you looked at her. She whipped out the tears and you were practically in her badly dressed lap!" Cordelia snarls as she punches him and pushes him to the ground.

"No, I wasn't? And how'd you do that, anyway? What about the anti-demon spell?" Conner questions as he gets back up on his feet.

"I told you, Connor, we're different. Me and your baby. But I guess you can't even be loyal to our bed, let alone our little family. I thought you were gonna be a better father than Angel was to you." Cordelia smiles mischievously with her back turned, she knows if anything being a better father than Angel will be his number one priority.

"And I will be. I would do anything for our baby." Conner says fiercely, staring down at Cordelia's stomach.

"Wow. Are my hormones out of whack, or what? Hello, crazy pregnant lady, out of line! Whoo! Why don't you go see how Buffy is doing? Go on. I'm concerned. I want to know—" she tells Conner and he nods before practically running to Buffy's room and standing against the wall.

Connor stares at Dawn as she stares sadly at Buffy. He wants to go to her. He wants to gather her up in his arms and never let anyone hurt her but he's afraid he wont be able to say the right thing so he stays rooted to the spot. Wesley's in the corner holding an ice pack to his bruised head while Fred, Xander, Willow, Faith and Lorne stand near the bed where Buffy's resting.

"What's going to happen to her?" Conner bravely speaks up, his voice more even then he would have expected as he breaks the heavily laden tension in the air . Fred crosses her arms, turning to Wesley.

"Actually, I'd like to start with exactly was it, Wesley?" she questions, that tone of voice a woman gets when she wants answers.

"Orpheus." Lorne replies for him.

"Orpheus?" Dawn and Conner ask in unison, quickly looking at each other then away.

"Some kind of opiate?" Fred wonders in befuddlement.

"Mystical variety." Willow explains grimly. Her mind flitting to past memories.

"Humans inject it. Vampires feed off the humans. Folks tried to deal it at Caritas—only folks I ever banned from my club." Lorne shakes his head.

"The 'vention." Buffy mumbles almost inaudibly and Dawn wipes another tear.

"So, if ordinary humans do this junk, slayers are all super, right?" Fred figures and Lorne nods.

"That's what makes it so dangerous. Orpheus isn't entirely physical. It's an enchanted drug." Willow tells them, rehashing her own brief encounter with enchanted drugs. Sometimes they could feel good, other times… not so much. But the bottom line is any type of enchanted drug has the capacity to really do a number on you. Permanently.

"Magic. This is what it gets you." Dawn spits bitterly and Conner nods resolutely in agreement. Yet another thing they seem to have in common.

"That, plus the biting, makes for some serious psychic psychedelia. And the more you take, the deeper you sink." Lorne tells them morosely, pity penetrating his tone. Wesley looks toward Willow perplexed as he tries to figure out why she knows so much, before comprehension dawns on him. Enchanted drugs. The magic. She knew of this stuff because she'd experienced it. Maybe not this particular drug, most likely something much more sinister. Willow hangs her head before making a hasty exit so she can collect her thoughts.

"It leads you down to hell…" Wesley sighs, removing the ice pack from his head and staring regretfully at Buffy's still form. "And leaves you there."


	8. Chapter 7

A/N: So I know, this update is way early BUT I thought you guys would enjoy it. This one's a little shorter than usual but I hope you all enjoy it anyway. Drop a review and tell me what you think might happen, what you think should happen, what you like, what you don't like. I'm all ears. Plus, your reviews make me smile. Oh and side note: I just added a Fred/Wesley scene because they're really one of my favorite couples on both shows so I wanted them to have a moment somewhere in this mess. Anyway here we go.

* * *

**Carpe Noctum**

_Chapter 7_

After a while of sitting in a chair, ice pack held to his aching face he finally needs to remove himself from Buffy's room where everyone is so devastated he can't take it anymore. He hadn't intended for things to end up this way. Faith was supposed to take the drug, she was the one who wanted to do it… he sighs, running a hand down his face as he limps slightly down a hallway in the Hyperion. Either way it would have ended up badly. Whether it was Faith in that bed or Buffy, one of them would have still been fighting for their life. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath as he rounds a corner and hears the sound of soft sobbing coming from somewhere nearby, sobbing that sounds way too familiar for Wesley's liking. Sure enough, when he finds the room where the sounds are coming from, he finds the petite brunette sitting on the bed, her head in her hands.

"Fred." he breathes, doing his best to try and keep from startling her. At the sound of his voice she spins around and hastily swipes at the crystal clear tears running down her cheeks.

"Oh Wesley. I didn't see you there." she sniffs, looking up at him with sad brown eyes as he stands in the doorway, leaning on the doorjamb.

He feels helpless to comfort her, not knowing how or where their boundaries lie. Since he kissed Fred things haven't been exactly clear, Fred's breaking up with Gunn and her refusal to talk about the kiss they shared. Wesley loves her just as much as he did before, over Lilah, over any woman. Fred is his everything, has been the center of his world for so long, he cant even remember a time where he was happy without her in his life. But ever since she officially chose Gunn, back when they visited the haunted ballet, he's been waiting in the wings hoping she'd change her mind and chose him.

But all that waiting was put on the line when he impulsively kissed her in Angel's office and risked the delicate friendship they had going since his arrival back.

"I suppose it would be a stupid gesture to ask you what's wrong." Wesley muses as he steps into the room and stands in front of Fred.

"Yeah I guess it would." she replies quietly, before shrugging halfheartedly. "It's nice to be asked though."

He nods, understanding her completely, as he takes a seat beside her on the bed she's sitting on.

"It's just everything is so screwed up right now, with Angel's soul missing and Buffy and …"

"Gunn."

"Yes, Charles." Fred confirms sheepishly. Wesley looks down as Fred puts her hand on top of his. "And you." she whispers to him. Wesley takes a moment to process it before his cynical mindset kicks in.

"You still love him." he says grimly, bracing himself for her answer. He's been turned away before but somehow he knows this time is different, this is a conscious decision rather than a blind one.

"Maybe," she replies and he looks away, a sinking feeling in his chest. "But… he's not the one I'm _in _love with. At least not anymore."

Wesley's brows furrow and he fights the urge to jump up and dance at the prospect of a future with Winifred Burkle.

"But everything is so chaotic and horrible right now. Charles probably hates me right now and Angel's soul is just poof, gone and Buffy's… dying." Fred shakes her head as tears escape her eyes despite her attempt to keep them at bay. She never was good at hiding her emotions, especially when it comes to people she cares about. "I'm sorry I just can't do this right now, not when everything is falling apart." she apologizes, meeting Wesley's eyes pleadingly. He has to understand that she needs time, to sort out her feelings and deal with what's going on around her.

"I understand." he tells her soothingly, taking her hands in his and running his thumb across her skin. "But you have to know, Fred, no one on this earth could ever hate you."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"On the contrary, I'm pretty sure its physically impossible to hate someone so loving and brave and courageous."

"Oh Wesley." Fred sighs, wrapping her arms around Wesley and leaning her chin gently on his shoulder. He closes his eyes as he buries his face in her hair and envelops her into the safety of his arms, wishing the two of them could remain in that moment forever, instead of facing the reality that awaits them.

xxxxxxx

Willow is on her way back from the garden when she sees them. They must have left Buffy's room not too long after her. Wesley and Fred. They're embracing each other as if there is no tomorrow in one of the spare rooms. She's not eavesdropping merely observing. She's actually surprised that she hadn't seen it before. The way they look at each other from across the room, the small touches here and there.

She has to give them props, they sure as hell can keep it professional and Willow finds herself a bit disappointed that Fred is in fact in a relationship. A straight relationship. She's really the only other woman she would consider being with. But seeing her and Wesley console one another is enough to push down that envy and flood her body with the one thing she hasn't had since Buffy came in, drugged up and bleeding, which is hope. And that's something they all need right now. She sighs and walks a little further to find Xander alone in another spare room, tear tracks running down his face.

"Xander?"

"Will?"

"Yeah it's me." Willow replies, standing in the doorway awkwardly. Maybe its because the last time Buffy almost died Willow was hell bent on killing Warren or the time before that she resurrected Buffy with dark magics, either way neither of them really know what to say to the other, still processing their best friends condition.

"You know I love you, Will. Right?" Xander asks desperately as he stands up and faces Willow. Her face softens and she smiles.

"Of course, I do Xan. I love you too." she replies, easily melting back into _their _way. She almost wants to yell at herself for forgetting how to do this with him. She's known him for how long now? He stopped her from ending the world. There's nothing that they cant get past.

"Its just… I don't know what I'd do without you and Buff, y'know?" he chuckles humorlessly, images of a lifeless Buffy filling his vision. He remembers having this very same conversation with Buffy and more tears slide down his cheeks. He couldn't do this in front of the others, in front of Dawn because even though everyone remembers Dawn being there way back when, he knows the truth of it, in his heart and his gut. It was he, Buffy, Willow and Giles. They were the core. Everyone else was either added or removed by time but they were the heart, the center. And you take one out, the rest crumbles apart.

"I know." Willow sniffles, giving in to the cries she'd been holding in around the others. With Xander she could cry, she could scream, she could rant, she could laugh and the same went for Buffy. They were best friends, until the bitter end. She just can't believe the end might finally be here… again.

xxxxxxx

A large ship pulls into New York harbor, passing the statue of liberty and pulling into a port. Huge huddled masses of men, women, and children pour off the deck and a long-haired Angel walks through the crowd. The people parting for him and leaving plenty of space to get through.

Angelus stands in his path intent on blocking his way but Angel walks straight through him and continues forward without so much as a second glance.

"Hey! What is that about?" Angelus demands as he turns to watch Angel go.

"You tell me. It's your flashback." Buffy shrugs just as Angelus rams toward her. Again, he goes right through her and Buffy chuckles. "Catch me if you can."

"All right, lover. This is my flashback. Why are you in it?" he wonders as he starts to walk away.

"Don't know. Must be the magic side-effects of my incredibly simple ruse." she tells him teasingly and Angelus rolls his eyes and turns to face her.

"All right. So, what is this, huh? Puff-the-Magic-Dragon City? Fairyland?" he questions sourly.

"You'd think? Me, I'm guessing it's more like 'Angelus, this is your life,' because lack-of-hygiene world sure ain't mine." Buffy quips waving a hand in front of her nose. "Seriously, did you miss the invention of water or something?" Buffy taunts and Angelus snarls irately, falling into step with her as they walk.

"The whole way over here, he crouched in the filth of animals just to avoid human temptation. This isn't my life—it's his!" he shouts, fuming at the realization.

"Angel's?" Buffy asks, a sort of reverence in her voice reserved for all things Angel related as she takes a look around at one of the many worlds that Angel walked in.

"It annoyed the crap out of me the first time around. This sucks. Why do you get to be Marley's ghost?" he replies tartly, coming to a stop and staring at her bitterly.

"'Cause I'm dying, dumbass." she explains sitting down on the ground.

"Not soon enough." Angelus grinds out, not really sure if he means it. What would life be like without Buffy Summers? Not a world he would want to live in, or er, be in. Unless he was the one to do it of course. He may not love her but he sure couldn't get enough of her and that's the truth.

"You're probably right." Buffy shrugs indifferently. The hard part is over now or so she hopes. "I'm just here until Willow can shove a soul up your—"

"Not gonna happen." Angelus interrupts, shaking his head furiously in denial. No, he wasn't about to let her put his soul back _again_. Life was so much more fun when he was calling the shots.

"Then, I'm whatever... dust in the wind. Candle in the wind. There'll be a general wind theme." she says standing up and brushing herself off.

"Who would have thought Buffy had suicidal tendencies?" Angelus mocks before his expression turns serious. Who would have thought… he'd actually kind of care. Purely out of morbid curiosity, of course, as to why she was suddenly so intent on departing this _wonderful _world she loves risking her ass to save all the time.

"I figure dying to save Angel's soul is gonna be worth it." Buffy shrugs just as the scene around the two of them shifts. Jazz music floats from a distance and old cars zoom by them on the street. Angelus and Buffy look up to see that their outside the "Blue Mood Lounge."

"Trippy." Buffy lets out uncharacteristically as she observes her surroundings. Damn Faith and her slang words. She almost smiles.

"Early 20's by the cars. What is this—Chicago?" Angelus wonders absently as he catches sight of Angel standing across the street. "Oh, no. I remember this. I remember this place. I gotta get out of here." he growls, starting to storm away in the opposite direction. He doesn't get far.

"Why? You freaking out?" Buffy asks, her eye brows raise in genuine interest as Angelus squirms. She never knew too much about Angel's life. So seeing his life flash before her eyes is kind of fitting and totally appropriate.

"It's coming. Again." he groans just another car drives by.

"What's coming?" Buffy demands but Angelus only moans in frustration.

"I can't do it again. I won't!"

They both watch as Angel runs into the street in front of a car and Buffy feels her self say it before she can stop herself.

"Angel! Get out of the road."

But he doesn't stop in the middle of the road he just keeps going until he's across the street, a tiny squeaking noise coming from his direction. Buffy's more confused then ever but smirks when Angel turns around and has a puppy in his arms.

"Doh!" Angelus growls, throwing a fit as Buffy giggles hysterically. He finds it strange that he is drawn to her laughter and fights the smile that comes at the sound of it. Damn Angel and his lasting effects of his so called love for this girl. Just thinking about _love _makes his skin crawl.

"You just rescued a puppy." she taunts and they both watch as a woman approaches Angel and gratefully taking the puppy from his arms.

"Oh, my stars! You saved her, Mister." she exclaims, patting the tiny puppy's head. Angel stares at her, his face the definition of dumbfounded.

"I'm in hell. This is hell, and I'm in it." Angelus yells at no one in particular as Buffy just continues to watch.

"Oh, gee, big fella. How can I thank you?" the woman asks, staring up at Angel through her long lashes as she continues to stroke the puppy.

"We haven't fed on a human in decades. She's begging for it, you moron!" Angelus shouts at Angel but Angel doesn't hear and his features screw up darkly.

"Get lost." he barks at the woman and her mouth drops open in shock.

"Beg you pardon?"

"Take a hike, Betty. Scram." he commands pointing toward the club's door.

"Well, pound snow, you mook!" she frowns, hitting Angel's chest and stalking into the club. Buffy isn't really sure what a mook is, but by the looks of it, its not good.

"We're reliving Angel's good deeds—you are in hell! Wicked!" Buffy says excitedly, laughing at Angelus' angry expression. This is going to be good.

xxxxxxx

"There's only one thing we can do for Buffy, now—Finish what she started." Wesley declares with conviction.

"You mean, re-ensoul Angel?" Lorne offers and Conner scoffs, again finding the notion of magick laughable.

"Impossible. We've been over this: no jar, no soul. No soul, no Angel." Conner tells them, for what he feels is like the thousandth time.

"It's not that simple, Connor. I've been doing some research with Fred—"

"It is simple. Angelus is all that's left. First he slaughtered Lilah, now he's killed Buffy." Conner reminds them, pointing up toward her room.

"She's not dead yet." Wesley adds and Xander bows his head. "Do you hear yourself? Yet. God, I can't believe you let her…"

"You're lying to yourselves. You all think that I'm taking this personally so that you don't have to, but inside you know I'm right. We need to put Angelus down." Conner asserts but Willow puts a hand on his shoulder and shakes her head.

"I don't think so. I think you need a witch." she tells him and he twists around to stare at her, while Xander, Fred, Wes and Faith smile broadly.


	9. Chapter 8

A/N: So I'm back, with a new chapter thats a little bit longer than the last! I hope you all are enjoying this because I'm really having a great time writing this. I'm doing my best to really capture what everyone's feeling and what I think they would say/do and I am loving all the feedback I'm getting. Reviews are like the air I breath, I swear. Anway, happy reading to you. Stay tuned for an update very soon.

* * *

**Carpe Noctum**

_Chapter 8_

"Of course. You are the only living person to ever re-ensoul Angel." Wesley realizes, a light of hope blazing in his eyes.

"So you really think you can pull it off?" Cordelia asks anxiously.

"Putting his soul back? It's the first spell I ever learned. I'm not gonna forget that." Willow replies matter of factly.

"Yep. Our little Willow got Angel's soul back the last time. It was an out of body experience really. Right Cordy?" Xander attempts to laugh but the chuckle dies at his lips and Cordelia shoots him a benevolent shrug.

"What about the Muo-Ping?" Faith points out. Isn't that what the issue is anyway?

"The jar holding Angel's soul? Therein lies our boneage." Willow says unhappily.

"Stolen right from our safe. And if we can't get the soul out of the jar, we can't put it back in Angel." Gunn tells them.

"Yeah, question is: how do we get the soul out if we don't know where the jar is?" Xander questions, looking toward the others.

"And apparently, the thing's impervious to magic." Wes adds.

"Yeah, I know already tried a standard locator spell while Faith and Buffy were slaying the beast, but zero joy." Willow sighs motioning toward Fred who nods in agreement.

"Right. Plus, Wesley's shaman says there's no way to extract the soul from a distance." Cordelia tells them with barely contained triumph.

"Soul trapped in a glass jar, impervious to magic. It is complicated." Willow nods, biting her lip in concentration.

"Tough nut to crack." Cordelia agrees, definitively more cheerful as everyone silently mulls over how screwed they are.

"Wait a minute, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Willow suddenly shouts, barely able to contain herself.

"I doubt it." Cordelia mutters darkly.

"We just break the jar. That way we don't have to magic the soul out. We just break the glass around it!" Willow exclaims eagerly.

"Remarkable." Wesley compliments as Willow starts to bounce with excitement.

"And then Angel's soul is still released into the ether, and—and there's something called Delothrian's Arrow. We don't even need to know where the target is. This is fantastic! We're gonna get him back." Willow tells them confidently, her face finally resembling something of a smile.

"Alright. I'm going to go tell Lorne and Dawn." Conner tells them before taking off up to Buffy's room. Wesley and Willow break off to discuss the logistics and gather the ingredients.

"I thought Delothrian's Arrow was used to protect good magicks." Wesley questions as they sift through the items Wesley has with him.

"It is." Willow confirms sorting out what she might need.

"So, how can you use it to break the jar? The Muo-Ping is a sacred object. It's holy." Wesley reasons and Willow shakes her head.

"It's glass, therefore crunchable. The sacred's what's inside. 'All life a container…'"

"'...For the heart of all life.'" Wesley finishes, impressed. "You've studied the Daharim."

"It had to be something specific. There's lots of jars in the world—can't shatter them all. I mean, you could, but good things come in jars. Peanut butter, jelly, those two-headed fetal pigs at the natural history museum." Willow looks to Wesley for a response and sighs when he doesn't. "Come on, everybody loves fetal pigs."

"Sorry. I think my sense of humor's trapped in a jar somewhere." he takes a deep breath and leans against the edge of his desk tiredly.

"We're pretty much all that way, right now. But it does seem like you've given in to the grumpy side of the force." Willow agrees and he sighs.

"A lot's happened. Not just Angelus. I've been—I've changed. I've seen a darkness in myself. I'm not sure you'd even begin to understand—" Wesley starts but Willow interrupts. "I flayed a guy alive and tried to destroy the world." she tells him.

"Oh. So…" Wesley stands upright and looks away.

"Darkness. Been there." Willow confirms, going back to sifting through ingredients.

"Yeah. Well, I never flayed...I had a woman chained in a closet." he says shamefully and Willow puts a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey." she says comfortingly and he shakes his head.

"That doesn't compare." he insists and she gives him a sympathetic smile.

"No, dark. That's dark. You've been to a place." she agrees and his head tilts in confusion.

"You seem exactly the same as when I left. No other major changes I'm not up on?" Wes wonders and Willow shrugs indifferently before her mind flashes to Tara. She blushes and clears her throat.

"Just little things. So, uh, orb of thessulah?"

xxxxxxx

The area around Buffy and Angelus is shifting again and they find themselves in a donut shop, disco music plays in the background as Angel walks in.

"Bring on the pain!" Angelus rolls his eyes as Angel moves past him and Buffy to the jukebox and selects a song. He bobs his head a little to the music and Buffy smiles.

"Mandy, huh? Must kill you he's got a love for the power-ballads." Buffy jeers as Angelus slides into the other side of the booth she's sitting in, swatting at a buzzing sound he keeps hearing. She still can't help but smile as she thinks about it. It's just another piece of the puzzle that is Angel.

"Worse were the concerts." he complains just as him, Buffy and Angel catch sight of a couple that walks past. Angel quivers in desire, for more than one reason. "You know what that's like? Every time he gets close, I feel it. Wanting to tear their flesh apart. The hunger. It's like a blade in my gut." Angelus moans as Angel sits down at the counter and orders a coffee.

"Only, it's not your gut, princess. Angel's the one that belongs on the outside, not you." Buffy says intensely focusing her gaze on Angel as her features soften. She wishes she could have known him longer, known more about him. They could have talked about stuff, like maybe her love for history, which she discovered after he left. He could have told her things text books could have never told her. It would have been nice. Well at least she'll get to know a little bit about him before she goes on and she guesses that's enough for her.

The clerk pours Angel a cup of coffee as he tries to recover from his temptation and Angelus turns to Buffy.

"You think it's that cut and dry, don't you? That if Angel gets his soul back—"

"When he gets it." she corrects automatically. Because she doesn't even have to think about it. Angel _will _get his soul back. She has no doubt.

"You'll just hang up your spurs and ride off into the sunset knowing you put the monster back in his cage. But," Suddenly Angelus is gone and Buffy's eyes search everywhere for his face before he suddenly whispers in her ear. "I'm always here, Buffy. Deep in." he says breathily, hovering over her. He wants to reach out, touch her or strangle her neck. He hasn't decided on which yet, maybe both.

The bell over the door jingles and a man walks in distracting Angelus and Buffy from their little chat.

"Hi. Can I help you?" the cashier asks pleasantly and the man pulls out a gun from his coat.

"Gimme your money. Gimme the cash in the drawer." he screams shooting up toward the ceiling to prove he isn't afraid to shoot the man.

"Oh. OK…" the cashier stutters nervously as he turns to the register.

"Open it!" the robber yells and the cashier fumbles as he pushes the button.

"Oh, all right. I, uh—"

"Come on!" the man shouts again and the cashier winces as he does his best to fish for the key to the register somewhere in his pocket.

"I, uh, I just need to…"

"Now!" the robber shouts, pulling the trigger and watching the bullet sail through the air and hit the cashier in the chest.

"It's gonna be OK. I'll get you to a hospital. You're—you're gonna be OK. All right? It's—everything's gonna be—" Angel kneels beside the clerk as he whimpers and he does his best to apply pressure to the wound but the blood continues to flow and stain his hands.

"It hurts." the cashier cries and Angel nods pityingly.

"Yeah, I know."

"Doc, I think we're losing him. God, I love this episode!" Angelus mocks before swatting at the air again in annoyance. "What is that buzzing?" he asks the air. Anyone. Its pissing him the hell off. More than he already is, and that's pretty hard for a vampire who's stuck with a slayer in his own personal hell.

"God, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Angel mutters as the clerk takes his last breath.

"So, who's your big hero now?" Angelus wonders smugly turning to Buffy for her answer. Lets see her weasel soul boy out of this one.

"Wasn't even his fault. God, does Angel have to pay for everything?" she shakes her head and stares at Angel woefully. She's reminded of when Angel almost killed himself and she wishes he could have happiness, even if it couldn't be with her.

"Choices, little girl. The ones you make with your heart of hearts." Angelus drawls as Angel starts for the door. His hand falls onto the handle but he stops and looks back toward the clerk. He locks the door and turns back to the cashier. "Uh-oh. What's gonna happen?"

Buffy takes a deep breath and braces herself with wide eyes as Angel makes his way back over to the clerk. Silently praying.

"I'm deep in, lover. Soul or no soul." Angelus whispers huskily, leaning in and ghosting his fingers against the length of her neck while Buffy watches with wide eyes. Angel vamps out and lifts the clerk nimbly in his arms.

"Angel!" Buffy shouts shooting out of her seat to stop him, but to no avail. Angel sinks his fangs into the clerk's neck and drinks. Buffy's neck starts to throb and she presses her hand down on the curve of her neck to stop the bleeding.

"He was going to save him." Buffy says disbelieving, backing away slowly as Angelus directs a smile her way.

"Or did he choose to be a little slow on the draw? Whoops! Dinner by armed robbery. Look at him, Buffy. You didn't think my hell was private, did ya?"

Buffy feels tears stream down her face as Angel screams.


	10. Chapter 9

A/N: Hey everyone. So, here's chapter 9. I don't know if you're excited but I am! Only one more chapter until Part II. I wanted to thank those of you have been leaving reviews, I really appreciate it and I love hearing what all of you think it really makes my day. Anyway, until next time. Enjoy!

* * *

**Carpe Noctum**

_Chapter 9_

Lorne sighs as he dabs at the tears pouring down Buffy's face. Dawn's sitting in a chair right next to her bedside while Conner stands behind her, trying his best to support her anyway he can.

"She's in the barrens now. They cry for a while. Quiet mostly. Like they're letting go of everything that meant something to them." Lorne tells them dejectedly.

"I'm sorry, Dawn. I didn't know Buffy well but from what you've told me she was a pretty amazing person. She doesn't deserve this." he consoles and she nods silently in thanks. He pulls up a chair and sits himself faithfully beside her.

"How long...'til...?" Conner trails off and takes a greedy gulp of air as he takes Dawn's hand in his. He needs to be strong for her. Buffy is her sister.

"Not long. You can hold her hand if you want to." Lorne replies and Dawn moves her other hand to hold Buffy's just as Wesley walks in.

"Wesley, you did the right thing. She was brave, and at least she died in battle." Conner nods toward Buffy while Wesley stays silent not agreeing at all. He wishes Buffy didn't die. She deserves to live more than anyone. Conner just thinks its better somehow, then dying because of something boring or not noble. At least she'll always have that…

"No. It wasn't the right thing. Don't ever say Buffy dying is the right thing because its not. It never is!" Dawn shouts angrily, jumping up from her chair and glaring at Conner as angry tears make their way down her face. Conner opens his mouth to reply, to apologize, to anything, because he cant stand that look on her face, the one directed at him. But before he can reply Wesley interrupts.

"It's time." he tells them and Conner follows Wes reluctantly down into the lobby. Fred is waving a lit candle and ringing a brass bell as she circles around the room. Willow passes by her, smiles and lifts her chin higher.

"You're good. Good bells."

Willow walks over to the front desk and looks at Gunn and Faith.

"OK, now all I gotta do is contact the spirit world, harness the Delothrian ebb, and focus it through my little marble of doom here. And we'll restore the Muo-Ping's entropic equilibrium." Willow tells them, holding up her tiny marble as evidence.

"The jar goes smash?" Gunn simply questions, not understanding even a word of what Willow just said.

"Smash-o-crash." she replies and Xander laughs at an old memory.

"Like that one time during Halloween." he brings up and Willow erupts into giggles.

"Oh yeah. When … And he put it…" Willow continues to laugh until her and Xander look up the stairs and remember. They immediately lapse into silence.

"That's all I need to know. I'll be downstairs in case the Prince of Darkness wakes up." Gunn informs them grabbing his tranq gun and then leaving for the basement.

"You ready?" Wesley checks and Willow nods determinedly.

"Should be a snap." she replies just before a bolt of orange energy comes shooting toward her and sends her sliding across the floor.

"Willow!" Xander shouts, running to her side. Faith swivels her head around with Wes and Fred to figure out where the hell the energy came from.

xxxxxxx

Lorne slides a little closer to Buffy as he looks over her.

"Don't you worry, princess. It'll all be over soon. I—I've seen lots of girls go through just what you're going through now." he assures her, starting to sing softly. "_There'll be another song for me, and I will sing it. Oh, there'll be another dream for me, someone will bring it._"

xxxxxxx

In her room, Cordelia sits on her bed the crystal in her hand as she attempts to contact Angelus.

"Hear me, Angelus. Heed my warning. Awaken at once. Return from the darkness. Or just lay there and let that red-headed meddler put your soul back. Whichever!" she shouts at him.

xxxxxxx

_Stay your hand, witch! You will not interfere with what must come to pass_, the beastmaster shouts in Willow's head. She grabs her hair, kneads her temples and mumbles weakly back at the voice.

"Invadoria disparu!"

_You think to banish me?_

"There's somebody in my head." Willow tells Wesley franticly as she clings to Xander's arm for support.

_As long as the soul is under my protection, it will never be freed._

"Vetsche invadoria disparu!" Willow chants at the sky. _I'th bid my thongue._

"He wants to stop us from getting the soul." Fred squeals as Willow shakes her head and propels her self off Xander's arm. Her eyes go black and she holds her hand out while the small marble in it begins to glow.

"Open the window. Fill this stone. Inside, outside. Two made one." Willow casts and the marble starts to rise off the base of her palm slowly, gaining momentum.

_You wanna go, Glinda? We'll go._

Willow attempts to stand her ground but is hit by another bolt of energy and knocked to the ground. She begins to shake and her hair starts to blacken. Xander runs back to her side and helps her up.

"Will. Its me Xander. Remember what we talked about. Its gonna be okay. Fight it." he encourages and Conner looks at Willow uneasily.

"Are you sure she can handle it?" his voice cracks as he looks up the stairs toward Buffy's room, where Dawn is.

"Alesh ashtoreth!" Willow screams and the ground beneath them begins to shake.

"I think she can hold her own." Wesley assures him.

xxxxxxx

"It's OK, Buffy. It's OK. You just wait. They'll get Angel back, and... it'll all be worth it. It'll all—" Lorne tries to convince himself until Buffy gasps and sits up. Dawn eyes widen and she looks to Lorne for answers. But all he can do is watch Buffy's still form, unconscious and now sitting upright, in confusion.

xxxxxxx

Scenes blend together once more and Buffy finds herself and Angelus in a dark alleyway filled with garbage. She almost wants to complain about the smell. Because seriously?

"It'll all be worth it. Is that what you try to tell yourself, lover? Is that the nasty little lie that kept those thighs nice and warm in your coffin?" Angelus' voice taunts her and she searches the alleyway for him desperately. She can't go yet, not until Willow has released Angel's soul.

"You kiss your mother with that mouth?" she jokes and Angelus shows up behind her, lying on the ground.

"No, but I ate her with it." he says, standing without bending his body in anyway. Buffy winces at the thought. "And now for a poem. 'Buffy goes gently into that good night.' You're fading fast, baby. I can feel it." Angelus breathes, moving to stand in front of her. His fingers hovering a few inches from her face as he traces the outline of her jaw.

"All the same, I hear a birdie singing in the distance." she says leveling her gaze with his. "Tells me you're about to get what's coming to you."

"Or not. I've got friends in high places." he smirks just as Angel stumbles into the alley, knocking down garbage cans and grabbing a rat to eat it. "Him not being one of 'em." Angelus says disdainfully, turning his face away from the bumbling disaster in the alleyway.

"Ugh. When is this?" she asks, her nose scrunching up in distaste.

"When isn't it? Twenty years after that stupid donut shop, and his fingers never smelled of anything but rat! 'I'm so sorry. I give up. I'm gonna live in a sewer!'" Angelus mocks, rolling his eyes and kicking at the pavement.

"He's paying for what he did." Buffy says proudly but Angelus closes in on her.

"He's hiding from what he is—which may be a big Psych 101 revelation for you, sweetie, but I already know this crap, so why do I have to go through it again?" Angelus wonders intently.

"Maybe 'cause it's not about you," Angel notifies him getting up from the ground and standing up. "jackass."

xxxxxxx

"Do you feel that?" Xander asks as Willow continues to chant.

"There's something evil rising in the hotel." Conner concludes uneasily and the others nod in agreement. Just then a huge demonic head floats above the gang in the lobby, growling and shrieking.

"What the hell is that?" Conner screams as the head circles them.

"Ignore it." Willow advises them before turning back to the small glowing ball in her palm. "Find your target. Leave my side." she commands it. "Geth na haroth castellum tol."

xxxxxxx

"If only this were a few weeks later." Cordelia complains warding off Willow's attempts as images of Xander flash in front of her. No. She can't be distracted not now, not when Willow is so close to…

xxxxxxx

"Break the glass." Willow yells. Fred looks around the room and notices something.

"Where's Connor?" she asks, her brows furrowing as the others look for him.

"Let loose the soul!" Willow screams her hair turning completely black and flying in all directions before going back to red as the little marble shoots forward and find their target: the jar.

xxxxxxx

Angelus shakes his head and looks toward Angel with annoyance.

"I don't believe this! You're the one behind this whole true-Hollywood sob-story?" he asks disbelievingly.

"Angel." Buffy says longingly before smiling sweetly. "Hate the hair." Angelus laughs and smiles mockingly at her jeer. Because he just cant help but agree.

"Buffy, why are you still here?" Angel asks in concern, watching as a medley of emotions play across her face. Guilt. Pain. Despair.

"Just waiting to see this pervert get stuffed back into the deep, crazy ground he came from." she lies easily and without guilt. She's earned this. Earned being able to go back up and be loved and warm and safe. Where broody vampires don't leave her for her own good. Life is hell. Death is peace. Its her gift, right?

"Then what? After that, what happens?" Angel demands furiously. He hears the lack of hope in her voice and sees the dim fire in her eyes. He can't let her go, not this time.

But before he can get an answer Angelus kicks Buffy to the ground and chuckles smugly.

"Probably something like that. I had a feeling the rules have changed." he laughs happily, unusually cheered by the idea of outsmarting Angel.

"She's not who you're after." Angel states and Angelus puts his hands up in exaggeration.

"No kidding, rat boy. The slayer will just be gravy once I finish you off." he says giddily.

"I've been waiting a long time for this." They say together before running toward each other and starting to fight.

"Buffy, get up! Are you listening?" Angel shouts as he deflects Angelus' punches.

"I'm dying, Angel." Buffy mumbles weakly, her eyes shutting on their own accord. Death is calling. Death is her gift again. She knows this will be the last time. It will _finally _be over. No more pain. No more heartache. Only peace.

"Yeah. It's a lot easier than living, huh?" he asks rhetorically before kicking Angelus in the chest. Angelus quickly regroups and grabs Angel by his neck.

"Always so concerned with the human condition." he says as he throws Angel down the alley. "It's no big mystery, man. They suffer, they die. That's what they're there for."

"I'm not perfect, Buffy. Even with a soul, I've done things I wished a thousand times I could take back. Like letting him _hurt _you. Leaving you." Angel tells Buffy earnestly as he lunges at Angelus. And not only do images of Angelus enter her mind but Spike and his cerulean eyes come too and she wonders if he'd be saying these things if he knew.

"And those Manilow concerts." Angelus growls, throwing Angel into the alley wall. "Son of a bitch!"

xxxxxxx

"Cordelia, I'm coming in!" Conner shouts busting through her bedroom door. She loses her concentration and the marble smashes through the jar, releasing Angel's soul into the ether. She nearly screams. As soon as Conner comes near her, Cordelia lifts a vase and smacks Conner in the head with it, causing him to reel backward.

"Oh, Connor, I'm so sorry. I thought it came back. That horrible floaty head." she cries, lying through her teeth.

"Did it hurt you? Is the baby...?" Conner swallows the lump in his throat as he regains his balance.

"We nearly got killed." she shrieks her voice raising an octave.

"Willow's spell must've opened a gateway to something." he replies shaking his head thoroughly. God damn magic.

"Evil. If she keeps at it, there's no telling what will happen. She's already let hell itself into this hotel." Cordelia tells him, stroking his arm tenderly.

"I know. I've seen it. It's not safe for the baby here. I'm gonna make her stop." Conner decides, snatching his arm away and making his way to the door.

"Connor, you can't! She's too powerful. But you can stop it. The reason for all of this." Cordelia lowers her voice to a whisper and attempts to look mournful. "You have to kill Angelus."

xxxxxxx

"So... now Angel's soul is just floating around out there?" Fred asks her voice filled with wonder as she, Faith, Xander, Gunn and Wesley light some more candles and incense in the lobby.

"Yeah, until I can channel it into the Orb of Thessulah." Willow confirms, holding the orb up to further prove her point. Xander smiles as he recalls where they got their first one, a paper weight in Giles' office.

"Connor shouldn't have run off like that." Fred says disapprovingly.

"I'm sure he's just worried about Cordelia." Wesley shrugs and Fred purses her lips.

"Do you ever think their relationship is maybe a little bit...icky?" she questions and Xander nods in complete and utter agreement.

"Finally someone who's actually noticed. I thought it was just me." he says with a shiver.

The others continue to prepare the lobby as Xander runs upstairs to go and check on Cordy and Conner.

"Ready when you are." Willow picks up her book and joins in as Fred begins to read.

"Quod perditum est invenietur…"

"Nisi mort. Nisi al finitei. Te invoc, spirit al trecerii…"

xxxxxxx

"But they're finding a way. Willow is doing the spell." Conner replies weakly. He wants to defend Angel. Talking with Dawn has sort of opened his eyes. His father…

"You know I have fought harder than anyone to save Angel's life, but there comes a time when you have to weigh risk versus reward. And as much as I love Angel...as a friend... killing Angelus now is the only way to guarantee our family's safety." Cordelia pleads and Conner clenches his jaw tightly as he considers what Cordy is asking him to do. He seriously doubts she's fought the _hardest _out of all of them. If anyone fought it was Buffy…

"I know it in my heart now. You're not just protecting me. You're protecting the world. Sometimes one death can spare infinite pain."

"What will I tell the others?" Conner asks searchingly.

"They can't stop you if they don't know." she says soothingly and he nods and looks up at her.

"What about the sanctuary spell?" he brings up, trying to think of something that could prevent what he has to do. There's gotta be a way around this, around what she's asking him to do. Dawn would be so disappointed…

"I can fix it. We're special, Connor." she says kissing his cheek purposefully.

"Hey, Cor' am I interrupting something?" Xander asks as he knocks on the door and enters the room without permission.

"No. I was just leaving." Conner tells him reluctantly before exiting the room. Xander walks in past him and stands in front of Cordelia.

"You okay?" he asks, concern evident in his voice as he brings a hand up to caress her cheek.

"I- I-," Cordelia starts before she gasps and her eyes go wide as she grabs at Xander's shirt. "Xander, you have to stop Conner. He's going to kill Angel." She suddenly takes a deep breath and fights off the good with in her. She composes herself just in time to see Xander running out of the room.

"God damn it." she growls.


	11. Chapter 10

A/N: Hey everyone. So I'm pleased to tell you this is the last chapter of part I, the next chapter willl be the start of part II. Exciting sn't it? I'm so hapy with all the feedback I've been getting with this it reallty warms my heart to see people are actually liking this. I'm not sure how but this story really took up a permanent place in my heart Anyway, I hope you like this and remember reviews are pretty much the air I breathe! Enjoy.

* * *

**Carpe Noctum**

_Chapter 10_

"Buffy, wake up!" Angel orders, scowling at her.

Buffy stirs awake so she can explain. So he'll understand. Because if anything he needs to understand why. Angel deflects another attack from Angelus before knocking his feet out from under him.

"I'm finished. Its you for me." she whispers to him laying her head back against the brick wall behind her.

Angelus jumps up and throws a sloppy punch Angel's way, but he ducks and kicks Angelus across the alleyway before breaking away from his fight and bending down beside Buffy.

"You cant give up Buffy, please, don't give up." he begs stroking her cheek as a tear rolls down his own.

"Anybody notice a battle with your alter-ego going on here?" Angelus asks after he knocks Angel down from behind.

xxxxxxx

"Te implor doamne. Nu ignora accasta rugaminte lasa orbita sa fie vasul care-i va transporta sufletul la el." Willow chants as Conner storms past her toward the basement, his face void of any emotion. He knows he shouldn't do this. Talking with Dawn, he knows his father is a lot more than he's given him credit for but that doesn't change the fact that he's putting Conner's child in danger. He wants to be a good father. He _has _to be a good father. He doesn't stop.

xxxxxxx

Angel delivers a hard punch to Angelus' chest, sending him across the alley. He quickly scurries back to Buffy's side, pulling her up in his arms and brushing the hair from her beautiful hazel eyes. The ones he spends a good percent of his afterlife dreaming about.

"Buffy, listen to me. You saw me drink. It doesn't get much lower than that. And I thought I could make up for it by disappearing."

"I did my time, its time for me to go back." she mutters hopelessly at the sky and Angel growls. He _won't _let her go again.

"Our time is never up, Buffy. We're never finished." he says ferociously, angling her face to his. She hears the double meaning behind his words.

"Strong is fighting, remember? Its hard and its painful and its everyday. Its what we have to do."

He needs her to listen. He needs her to fight.

"It hurts." she whimpers and Angel kisses her forehead.

"I know. I know."

xxxxxxx

Xander flies by Willow as she wraps up the spell, pushing himself faster then he ever thought imaginable. Buffy is upstairs dying, he's not letting her last wish go ungranted. He may sort of dislike Angel with a fiery passion, probably always will, but he loves Buffy just like he loves Willow and he'll stop at nothing to give both of them whatever they need. Not to mention the fact that Xander will always like Angel more than Spike. Especially after what Spike did to Buffy back in Sunnydale. He figures if he had to pick between who was dusted and who wasn't, Spike would be the former. Xander reaches the stairs just in time to see Conner slink down the stairs and casually greet Gunn.

"Hey, Gunn, you should know…" he draws back his arm and knocks him out. "…they haven't finished the spell yet."

"Hey!" Xander shouts and Conner meets his gaze apologetically before it all goes black.

xxxxxxx

"Get up! You have to get up now. Buffy, you have to fight. I need you to fight. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Angel shouts at her, shaking her roughly in his arms. Angelus sneaks up from behind and knocks Angel out with a metal pipe.

"What won't I miss? The moralizing. Soul's already in the ether, boyo. I can smell it. How 'bout I send it off to that big puppy rescue in the sky." Angelus taunts, pointing to angel with his pip as he stands over him triumphantly.

"Arf arf." Buffy quips in Angelus' ear before shoving him to the ground. He's quickly on his feet and smiling with anticipation.

"Getting back into the game, lover?" he asks, weighing the pipe in his hand and getting ready to swing.

"I guess I am." she admits and Angelus grins. Now this is the Buffy he likes to see. Alive and _kicking_. He lets the pipe rip through the air but by the time its supposed to reach its target, Buffy disappears.

"Hey!" Angelus glares at the empty space where Buffy should be. He never catches a break.

xxxxxxx

Buffy wakes up and without missing a beat, she runs out of the room, Dawn and Lorne watching in amazement. Buffy shoots past Willow and the others straight down to the basement where Xander and Gunn are unconscious on the floor.

"I'm pretty clear about what you need." she hears Conner say solemnly as he rears back his hand ready to stake Angel, she grabs his wrist and throws him into the wall.

"Don't think so, kid." she says fiercely as Conner picks himself up and launches himself at her. Buffy delivers a blow to his face and he reels back before landing a kick in her abdomen. She doesn't want to hurt him, but she wont let him stake Angel.

"She's alive. It's a miracle!" Lorne exclaims as him, Willow, Wesley, Fred, Faith, and Dawn run down into the basement.

Conner knocks Buffy to the ground but she gives him a kick so hard he slams into the outer wall of the cage. He straightens up and goes to give the next blow when Angel grabs his neck through the bars.

"Connor, it's over. It's me. Really." Angel says and he feels Conner relax in his grip. Its really over.

xxxxxxx

"Hey." Buffy says quietly as Angel leans against the railing beside her on the balcony. The others are inside talking and celebrating. They have good reason to. Everyone's okay and they all made it. She sighs as she stares out at the full moon. It kind of makes her wonder where Oz might be, but she knows better then to ask. And his absence makes her wonder where Spike might be and who he might be with. She should have staked him when she had the chance.

"How're you feeling?" Angel asks, moving his hand across Buffy's cheek. She looks away guiltily. She closes her eyes and inhales deeply before opening them and staring into Angel's.

"Like I ate too much and my head is too heavy for my body." she quips and he chuckles lightly.

"That about sums it up." he agrees.

"Yep." Buffy says awkwardly, watching as Angel's features change from amused to troubled. He knows she doesn't want to talk about what happened, any of it, but he _has _to.

"I'm - I'm sorry." he sighs, dropping his hand and looking out toward the moon.

"I know." Buffy tells him, touching his arm softly. He looks down at her hand trailing up his arm and then meets her eyes. He'll never forgive himself, no matter how long he lives, for all the pain he's caused her. Angelus, leaving her. None of it.

"No I really am. I never did apologize for… I'll never be able to make up for it, any of it, Buffy. But I'm going to keep trying until the day I turn to dust. I love you, with everything that I am."

"Please." Buffy begs, looking away as her eyes fill with tears. She can't hear this right now. Not when all of the bad things she's ever done keep circulating through her brain, telling her she cant be - shouldn't be loved, by anyone. Much less this this wonderful man standing before her, and she says man because that's what he is. She refuses to believe different. He may need blood and he may have an allergy to the sun but his heart and in his soul he's a man. He always has been to her, from the very beginning and she loves him.

"I love you." he says firmly again, cupping her cheek in his hand and directing her gaze onto his. Could she have forgotten this? How strong they were? How much he loves her?

"I love you too." Buffy cries, digging her face into Angel's chest and wrapping her arms around his waist. He holds her against him and kisses her hair as her sobs shake his entire frame. This is not the Buffy he left back in Sunnydale.

She's broken and he wasn't there to pick up the pieces. And he'll never forgive himself for it. Buffy needed him and he was off in L.A. for her own good. He shakes his head and keeps holding her, because however upset and broken Buffy may be, he knows she'll do what's right and he wants to keep her with him for as long as he can.

Somehow, Angel and Buffy end up on the floor, their backs leaning against the bars of the railing and Angel's arms wrapped firmly around her. She wishes this was her life. Laying in Angel's arms for the rest of her life, it's the only place she truly feels safe. Her only home.

After a few minutes of silence she sniffles and wipes her eyes.

"Never stop fighting." Angel tells her, brushing his fingers against her neck.

"Hey, I was gonna, but someone got all pep-talky on me." Buffy jokes, lightening the mood and Angel graces her with a smile, the one that makes her melt.

"Yeah. I'm sorry I didn't get to see you. Our little brain tour notwithstanding." he says regrettably and she shrugs.

"Another time, I guess."

"I have a lot to thank you for." he points out playfully.

"Well, that vice is plenty versa. I even start, it's only gonna lead to hugging, and…" she smiles and shrugs again.

"Right. We can't have that." he nods as he angles his face closer to hers.

"Nope." Buffy shakes her head, wrapping her arms around Angel's neck and moving her lips against his.

xxxxxxx

Buffy and Angel walk back inside hand in hand to see Conner sitting on the couch, Gunn looming over him and everyone shooting him half hearted glares.

"All right. I get it. I messed up." he admits miserably, throwing his hands up in surrender.

"Hey, cheer up. That just makes you one of us." Faith says, punching him good-naturedly in the arm.

"You headed out?" Gunn asks and Buffy nods carefully.

"Yeah, I think so. And I'm bringing Faith with me." she asserts, jabbing her thumb toward her fellow slayer.

"Yeah, no tears, big guy." Faith grins, giving Gunn a high five and a longing stare. One Buffy and Angel definitely _notice. _They exchange a look.

Gunn clears his throat and tries not to make it so obvious that he's staring at Faith. "Nah, I'm good. I just wish I could've seen Buffy kicking the crap out of junior, here."

"It was pretty funny." Faith admits as Wesley approaches them.

"Buffy. Faith." he acknowledges and Faith laughs loudly.

"See. Brits know how to say goodbye. Angel here wanted a hug." she says pointing her thumb in Angel's direction.

"No, I didn't." he denies with a small smile as he looks at Buffy. Buffy smiles at Faith's joke and it comes as a surprise not only to Angel but to herself too. Guess Faith has just grown on her.

"Been a good show." Faith states and Buffy nods agreeing wholeheartedly.

"Yeah, sit back and let the girls do all the heavy lifting." Gunn chuckles, leaning back against the counter in the lobby.

"That's pretty much it." Wesley confesses with a laugh.

"OK. So everything's good. Wagons west. See you guys." Willow waves as she starts up the stairs.

"Willow…" Angel drawls.

"He's going to tell you how much he owes you." Faith tells the witch and Willow waves a hand at him dismissively.

"Aw, don't mention it. We got a slayer out of the deal, so we're even-steven." she says, hugging Angel.

"Good. Thanks." he says sheepishly, leaning instinctively into Buffy, who smiles at his unconscious gesture.

"Just, um, next time you guys resurrect Angelus, call me first, OK?" she prompts, looking toward Wesley for confirmation.

"Yeah a warning would be nice. That way we can get our crosses and garlic ready." Xander teases, exchanging a smirk with Angel. Alright, so he's turning into a softie, but the truth of the matter is Angel is better than Spike on a good day so he's got nothing to apologize for.

"I'm going to have to agree with that. Oh and when there's a big apocalyptic problem you think you're gonna need help with don't be afraid to call. We don't need to keep up this non communication thingy, okay?" Buffy states pleadingly. The others agree to call and Buffy steps in front of Angel to say goodbye.

"I'll see you soon, okay?" Angel promises, lacing his fingers in hers. She squeezes his hand before releasing her grip and turning to leave with Faith, Willow, Xander and Dawn trialing behind her. Buffy stops in the doorframe as a mopey Dawn and the others go out to the car and she looks to Conner. She doesn't want to leave things with Angel's son the way they are. He seems like a good kid, just a little misguided.

"Hey Con'." she calls out and Conner looks up expectantly

Angel watches as his son reacts to the nickname as Buffy directs a warm smile his way.

"Nice right hook." she compliments before sharing a lingering gaze with Angel and finally making her way out of the Hyperion.

Angel sighs mournfully as he watches Buffy go before turning to face the gang. Conner has his gaze focused on the door, a sad expression coloring his features. One that sort of mirrors his father's.

"So, we're back." Angel states clearly, a small smile starting to form. Everything is going to be okay. He's talking with Buffy again, the sun's back, the beast is gone, everyone's fine.

"It would seem." Wesley agrees as Gunn and Fred exchange glances.

"Look, I know things have been—" Angel starts to explain but Cordelia interrupts him from the head of the stairs. Gunn, Fred, Lorne and Angel gasp as they notice Cordy's protruding stomach.

"Sorry, Angel. But if this is the speech about how the worst is behind us, you may want to save it for later." Cordelia advises as she puts a hand on her bare stomach.

Angel's mouth hangs open in shock as his eyes focus on cordy's stomach. He isn't sure when or how it happened but after one more look at Cordelia he finds himself running outside to catch up with the others.

"Buffy!" he calls out against the night. He catches her in the parking lot, loading up her car and getting ready to go. "Buffy!" he shouts and her head shoots up as she snatches the sword she was putting up and raises it. She squints into the darkness as Angel jogs over to her.

"Angel?" she asks, setting her sword down and tilting her head. "Did you need something?"

"Nothing. I just needed to see you." he hedges and she puts a hand on her hip defiantly. He's not lying but he also knows she hates it when he gets all cryptic on her.

"Really its nothing, huh?" she questions letting him know she can totally see the look on his face. "Because it sure looks like something. You have a something face!" she insists and he smiles, grabbing onto her and pulling her along side him as they make their way back to the Hyperion.

"Looks like you guys can't leave yet." he calls out over his shoulder and Buffy sighs happily, resting her head on Angel's shoulder as the others grab their stuff and head back inside. Whatever it is he needs her for, she's kind of happy its happening.


	12. Chapter 11

A/N: Okay everyone so Part II is here! It's a little shorter than usual but I hope you like it. Remember reviews are very much appreciated and also make me update faster :D Promise to update soon! Enjoy.

* * *

**Carpe Noctum**

PART II

_Chapter 11_

Correction, Buffy is _not _happy about this. Not at all. Truth is? She's totally and completely creeped out by it. She's getting the wiggins as she speaks. And just thinking about how Xander feels…

"I know it's a bit of a shock. I mean, nobody's more shocked than me." Cordelia says, rubbing her belly before looking over at Conner and shrugging. "OK, maybe him."

The room goes silent and no one has a clue what they should say. Xander is on the couch with Dawn, both of them brooding silently, while the others just try to wrap their head around the concept of Angel's son _with _Cordelia.

"Um, sorry to be so... but I'm, like you said, kinda shocked." Fred tries to cut the tension but even with the futile attempt the room stays charged with it. Angel sighs walking over to the couch and sitting down. Yes, he loves Buffy but he cares about Cordelia and there was a time he thought he wanted to be with her. When Buffy wasn't an option. To say he's bummed wouldn't really be an understatement, but even as Angelus he swore he saw something between Conner and Dawn... Not to mention the fact that something isn't sitting right with him and he can't really pinpoint what it is.

"Yeah, 'cause hasn't it only been like... definitely shocked." Gunn confirms from beside Faith, who is also staring at Cordelia as if she has four heads. Just her and junior getting it on… What? Everyone's thinking it? Cant blame her. Dawn looks so heartbroken. Ugh. Men.

"I haven't been hiding, or ashamed, or anything... It's just with the Beast and his psycho master, and then Buffy, Faith and Willow and all that dramarama, not to mention—" Cordelia stars to list.

"Angelus." Angel finishes for her and Buffy gazes over at his thoughtful form, her own mind filling with the recent events and her near death experience. Things have definitely been chaotic to say the least. Something is tugging at her though and she isn't sure if right now is exactly the perfect time to bring it up. Later.

"Everything's just been so Clash of the Titans around here. I didn't wanna be a distraction." Cordelia explains carefully just as Lorne walks in. He has a smile on his face until his eyes find Cordelia's stomach and he scowls.

"Wha...? Put me on the short bus, and send me off to clueless school. A mystical pregnancy right under my beak and not even a tingle. Huh." Lorne says in frustration.

"How long have you known?" Wesley inquires cautiously and Cordy turns to him.

"Some time after we brought forth Angelus." Cordelia provides and Faith and Gunn exchange a look. That just doesn't seem right. How is she just goes to bed yesterday with barely an inch of fat on her and wakes up the next morning with a watermelon ready to pop out? Something's definitely off.

"That's a couple of weeks ago wasn't it? Looks more like eight months." Willow points out, her eyes bulging as they once again find Cordelia's stomach. Not even eight months, maybe like ten.

"The last time Cordelia was impregnated, she came to term overnight." Wesley offers up as an explanation but the scoobies are just not having it.

"That was a crawly evil demon thing. This is different." she insists, caressing her stomach and smiling softly.

"Still, shouldn't we try and find out...what's in there?" Fred wonders aloud with Willow and Buffy nodding in agreement.

"We already know. Our baby." Conner tells them, avoiding Dawn's eyes. He knew it would come out eventually. She just has to deal with it like everyone else.

"Well, congratulations. You're gonna have a grandspawn." Xander says sardonically and Angel turns to him sympathetically, he can tell Xander is still holding a torch for Cordy and seeing her like this probably isn't the highlight of his week.

"You don't know what it's like. How scary it is. I'm gonna have a child, and all you can do is joke 'cause you don't like me. We shouldn't have told 'em." Conner shakes his head in disappointment, before stalking out of the lobby. Dawn watches him go.

"Cordelia…" Buffy starts to say, doing anything to distract herself from the defeated look on Angel's face. A look she knows must be because of Cordelia. She had a feeling he might have been harboring some feelings for her, but this isn't about petty jealousies. Cordelia is pregnant and Buffy wants her to know they're going to do everything to help even if that means having to eliminate a threat.

"I know it's hard to understand. None of you have ever had a living being growing inside of you. And this— my sweet baby—we're connected. I feel what it feels. I can't explain it, but I sense its goodness, its love." she tells them, turning away and stroking her shifting stomach. "My baby will be here soon, and then you'll all see."

xxxxxxx

"Were we too harsh?" Fred asks hesitantly and Buffy, Faith and Lorne shake their heads. Fred nods. "I was just asking."

"No, they were bound to skulk off to neutral corners." Wesley speculates as he looks over at Angel's office where the vampire retreated right after Conner left and then he thinks of Xander, Conner, and Dawn all of which also wandered off somewhere into the Hyperion.

"Two vampires hook up, and—for the only time in vamp history—have a kid, our boy Connor. Then Connor grows up, knocks it out with Cordelia, a part-demon former higher-being. And—quick as you can say 'Easy Bake Oven'—there's a gigantic bun in hers." Gunn shakes his head resolutely. "I don't think we were too harsh." No definitely not. Faith can't help but agree with him and she's finding it kind of weird that she's connecting with him on a personal level as well as a physical level. It's kind of making her nervous. The only thing reassuring her is the fact that the physical attraction is definitely the most prevalent in this medley of emotions. She can practically feel her body itching to touch his.

"The first time Connor tried to attack Angelus, Lorne's sanctuary spell knocked him halfway to Abilene." Fred deduces and Wesley nods.

"Which means Connor is at least part-demon." Wesley decides, the others formally agreeing. It would be the only explanation for what happened and Wes is a man of reasonable thinking skills so he supposes his theory is correct.

"Yeah, well that was before my spell went all Flop-a-palooza." Lorne says, sitting down on the couch beside Fred and Faith.

"Having two part-demon parents might - could explain the…" Willow trails off, making a gesture like a growing belly. "…woosh factor."

"Not gonna be long until woosh turns into pop." Xander adds as he descends the stairs and takes a place beside Willow and Buffy.

"Speaking of 'pop', don't you think our re-ensouled leader should be a part of this little confab?" Lorne questions just as Angel walks out of his office and into the lobby.

"Easy Bake. Flop-a-palooza. Woosh. Pop." he lists on his fingers, before turning to Wesley and pointing at him. "I don't skulk. I've been thinking...about the past few weeks and Angelus—"

"Angel, you can't feel guilty for anything Angelus did." Buffy tells him seriously and Angel nods knowingly.

"I know. I knew the risks. We all did. And some of us paid a higher price than others. Angelus didn't kill Lilah. She was already dead, killed by the Beast." Angel informs them and Wesley's face screws up in pained confusion. Fred flinches a bit and looks at the wall intently.

"Well, that's...less terrible. Right?" Willow prompts but Angel ignores her.

"There's no excuse for...what Angelus did to her, but... I'm sorry for your loss. We've got two pressing matters: figuring out what we can about Cordelia's pregnancy, and destroying the Beast's master. Lorne you're—"

"Reliable as a cheap fortune cookie?" Lorne sighs sadly, while Xander pats his back supportively.

"I was gonna say a guy with good contacts. There have to be rumblings around town about this new player. Talk to your sources. See if anyone knows anyone who might know anything." Angel suggests and Lorne nods. He wants to be good for something. Anything. And if finding out info on the new looming possible apocalypse is what it is then pip pip hooray.

"I'm your demon." Lorne promises.

"Right. Wesley, if there's experts on mystical births, we're it. I want you, Willow, Xander, and Fred to do whatever you can to find out what this is." Angel advises and Wesley points his finger toward his back office.

"Uh, we'll pull all the files on Darla and her pregnancy and see what we can find." he replies.

"Gunn, Faith, I want you to sit tight for now. It never hurts to have some muscle on deck. In the mean time, there has to be a reason why the Beastmaster wanted Angelus. I'm gonna piece together everything I know—things he said to me when he was in my head, everything he's done. Maybe something will—"

"Strike you?" a woman interrupts and everyone in the room turns to see who it is. "Careful what you wish for." she snarks, a broad troublemaking smile touching her face.

"Well, look who's back now that the lights are on." Fred mocks, while the scoobies look on curiously.

"Aw, missed you too, babe." the woman says affectionately, winking at Fred.

"Gwen, it's really not a great time for a social call. We're pretty swamped. You know, uh... Apocalypse." Angel says motioning to the others.

"Thing is, there's a girl. She's in trouble. It's what you guys do, right?" Gwen pursues and Angel nods.

"Well, yeah."

"So, I'm in a jam. I can't get out of it alone. I need someone suave, a guy who can handle himself in a tight spot." Gwen replies her eyes sweeping over Angel. Buffy's eyes narrow, taking in the girl apprehensively. She doesn't _seem _like a foe. She hasn't tried to kill any of them yet but that doesn't mean anything. Let's not forget the fact she's staring at Angel like… like a girl who stares at attractive men!

"Gwen, I'd love to help—" Angel starts to say, swaggering just a bit but Gwen shakes her head dismissively.

"I meant him." she tells them, nodding toward Gunn.

Faith scowls in Gwen's direction as Buffy lightens up and looks at Faith sympathetically. _Tough luck_, Buffy mouths behind Angel's back and Faith has the urge to hit something. Maybe a petite brunette with trashy red lipstick and a lame ass red streak in her hair that's so two years ago? Now that's a sure fire way to release some tension. She might actually give it a try, because Faith's just itching for a bit of mindless violence. It's what she does. It's one of her kingdoms, but of course she doesn't. Sometimes she thinks she hangs around Buffy too much, the good girl attitude is starting to rub off on her. So instead, Faith frowns and pouts. Yeah, she's definitely hanging with B way _too _much.

"Well I guess, I'll uh, see you guys later." Gunn says before leaving with Gwen and Angel faces the rest of the group.

"Alright let's get cracken." Angel prompts before Buffy puts a hand up to stop them.

"Wait, there's something I need to discuss with you all. Something… you're probably not gonna like." Buffy whispers as she looks at Xander sadly. Angel wonders what it is she may know and how it may help as Buffy ushers the seven of them into his office.


	13. Chapter 12

A/N: Chapter twelve everyone! I haven't gotten a lot of responses for this lately but I hope you guys like it anyway. Remember reviews make me _smile_. Enjoy. A new chapter will be up soon.

* * *

**Carpe Noctum**

_Chapter 12_

"I've been looking all over for you. Connor, what they said...you can't let it bother you." Cordelia says comfortingly as she finds him in one of the many empty rooms in the Hyperion.

"I don't care what they say." Conner replies, angling himself away from Cordy. He doesn't want her to see how much he's struggling with this. Dawn was barely talking to him before she left and now that she knows he has a baby she probably will never speak to him again.

"Really? Is that why you retreated to the Fortress of Solitude?" she retorts.

"It doesn't make sense." he denies, standing up and looking at the wall.

"Freaking out over pregnancy's pretty much the M.O. with the gang around here." Cordelia mentions as if it's that's what he's even talking about.

"Not them. You. All that stuff you said about Angelus. And Willow...she—she didn't open a gate to evil. She put back Angel's soul. I almost killed him." Conner says his voice quivering. He isn't sure who or what to believe anymore. This whole situation is really screwing with his head and he doesn't like it.

"But you didn't. Angel's back. Everything worked out. Everything happens for a reason, even if it doesn't always seem that way." Cordelia explains sweetly, stroking his arm soothingly.

"How can you say that?" Conner questions, staring down at her.

"Think about it. You sinking Angel to the bottom of the ocean. Getting kicked out of the house. Me not knowing who I was and coming to you for help. All of those moments and a million others led to this miracle." she says gesturing down at her stomach.

"But sending me down to the basement. I had the stake. What was the reason for that?" he demands and she shrugs easily. The lies slipping off her tongue faster then her mind can process them. She keeps seeing Xander's devastated face as he hears the news and that spark fires within her. Wanting to help him, wanting to be with him. But she strikes it down, if she can fight the real Cordelia for just a little bit longer, all will be well.

"I thought our baby was in danger, and all my instincts told me that killing Angelus was the only way to protect it."

"But you were wrong." Conner sighs, brushing his hair from his eyes. He grunts as he plops himself on a chair and Cordelia comes to kneel in front of him.

"What's important is that when I needed help, you were there for me. Now I know I can trust you. Completely. No matter what. See? Everything happens for a reason." she explains, standing up and padding over to her things. "Connor, before our baby comes, I might ask you to do some things...for us. And I want you to remember, there's always a reason." she says, picking up a baby outfit and folding it neatly.

"I'll remember." he promises, his mind set on keeping his baby safe.

xxxxxxx

"That's supposed to be a kid?" Fred asks in disbelief as she holds up a picture of a red horned demon.

"An infant Gatbar demon. The spikes grow to full size in the womb." Wesley nods, returning to his book.

"Ouch. Gross factor aside, these pregnancies all seem to be run-of-the-mill demon lifecycle stuff. Nothing mystical about 'em." she says, rubbing her temples.

"They're just pictures, Fred." Wes reassures her but she shakes her head.

"It's the pictures in my mind that are getting me. I can't stop thinking about Connor and Cordy...hiding up in that room...imagining what they do up there. Not when he and Cordelia were almost.." Fred tails off realizing Buffy is in the room. So she turns just skips over the fact Buffy's eyes are widening and her mouth is open. "It's like being stuck in a really bad movie with those Clockwork Orange clampy things on my eyeballs." Fred jokes, taking her fingers and pulling her lids up as an example.

"Why imagine? Reality's disturbing enough." Buffy says after finally composing herself enough to speak.

"Connor's Angel's son. How did he and Cordy get all... couply?" Fred wonders, squeamishness taking over her frame.

"They were probably as surprised as anyone. But they were both lost, lonely…"

"No matter how lonely I was, I would never—" Fred scoffs but Buffy slams her book shut and interrupts her.

"You don't know what you'll do until it actually happens to you." Buffy says evenly, locking eyes with Fred.

"Things happen, Fred. When you're alienated from the people who care about you, you start to look other places." Wesley tells her intervening between the staring contest going on between Fred and the slayer.

"Hm. Lilah." she says softly, turning back toward her book.

"We were fighting on opposite sides, but it was the same war." Wesley elaborates and Fred simply rolls her eyes.

"But you hated her...didn't you?" Fred questions him and he winces.

"It's not always about holding hands…" he starts to say, attempting to find a way for her understand.

"And its never that black and white." Buffy adds grimly, her gaze focused on something far away. That's when Wesley realizes how far Buffy has really come.

xxxxxxx

Angel sighs in frustration as he draws on his sketch pad. He's yearning to go and find Buffy, to talk to her, but he knows if his plan is going to work, he has to play his cards right. So he waits and when the door knocks he calls out without moving an inch.

"Come on in, Cordelia."

"You know, that never stops creeping me out." Cordelia laughs nervously as she comes in and closes the door behind her.

"Yeah? I'm kind of creeped out myself." Angel admits, without looking up toward her. They've been betrayed by her.

"Can we not do this right now?" she asks tiredly and he shrugs pointing down at his drawing.

"OK by me. I'm kinda in the middle of something anyway."

"Anything coming to mind?" Cordelia asks casually as if it were no important.

"Not really." Angel tells her simply and she perks up noticeably.

"Nothing?" she questions again and he puts down his sketchpad, standing and walking to the window.

"Look, to be honest, I'm almost pining for the halcyon days of the Beast." he sighs and Cordy laughs.

"Right, 'cause it's not like he slaughtered hundreds of people with his bare hands." she says sarcastically.

"The Beast was just a flunky." Angel informs her and Cordelia nods.

"Who did his master's bidding." she agrees.

"Killing Manny, stealing my soul, murdering Lilah...those were surgical strikes. Not the smash-and-trash style of the Beast." he reasons, weighing his options.

"But if lava boy didn't do all that, who did?" she wonders, pretending to rake her mind for an answer even though she knows what really happened.

"His master." Angel breathes, turning to face Cordelia.

"I'm his master. I'm his all-powerful master, and I'm gonna break into a guarded room, steal your soul from a safe—not by ripping it open, but by using the combination—then I'm gonna hunt and kill Lilah right under this very roof. Sure. Evil geniuses live for that playing with fire stuff." Cordelia roleplays, telling him exactly what he wants to hear.

"You don't understand. This thing was in my head. I've heard him, and he's insane enough to pull those kinds of stunts." Angel says seriously, trying to instill it in Cordy's brain.

"When you say _insane_, you mean, like, diabolical?" She asks as if uninterested. Because she is _not _insane.

"No, I mean like deluded and demented. He spoke to me in this cheezy, self-important voice. I bet he doesn't even have a master plan—he's just making it up as he goes along." Angel chuckles as he watches Cordelia's expression turn into a frown. "Hey, don't worry. We'll figure it out. Come on, anybody as daredevily as this guy will slip up sooner or later. When he does, he's dead."

Cordelia smiles fakely at him. She needs to step it up or else everything will be ruined.

xxxxxxx

Wesley sighs as he watches Fred leaves their little research party to go and find Willow and Xander so they can try out the locater spell again. Leaving him and Buffy alone in Angel's office. He sees she's deep in thought and he finds himself wondering what it was that gave her the perspective on relationships that seems to match his so well. He bets they've both got stories to tell that could last for decades.

"You can quit staring, Wes. You wanna ask something just go for it." Buffy sighs quietly and Wesley clears his throat, flushing in embarrassment at being caught.

"I was just curious as to who you might have been speaking of when we were talking with Fred…" There's a beat of silence and Wesley's almost certain he isn't getting answer but then Buffy's pained voice floats toward him.

"I had a…" Buffy sighs before looking away shamefully. She knows he'll find out sooner or later as the others will. It'd probably be better if she just got it over with. Maybe Angel would forgive her if he knew why. "I had a physical relationship with someone who I know I shouldn't have." she explains and Wesley stays quiet, waiting for more. His mind renders images of Lilah, the curve of her neck, the way she fit perfectly against him.

"He said he loved me and I was _so _lost. And I needed to _feel _something. Anything other than the hell I was going through.." Buffy says as he tries to defend herself but Wesley doesn't judge, understanding full well the isolation and crippling loneliness she endured. He knows how it feels. He lived it.

"Who?" he asks simply and she bites her lip, debating whether or not she should lie. The name that has meant many things to her over the past few years. Enemy, vampire. Ally, when she faced Angelus the first time. Friend, when she had no one else. Lover, if you can call it that. Add almost rapist to the mix and you got a full house. But even though her brain tells her not to, she sighs as her heart beat picks up and she breathes his name.

"Spike."

Wesley's eyes widen and she looks away, her eyes filled with self loathing and disgust. He scoots out of his chair immediately and falls beside her, taking her in his arms to comfort her. He knows the pain and hatred that was and still is burning within her. He only hopes they can both be strong and go on.

xxxxxxx

Angel walks into his office a bit smug before finding Wes and Buffy wrapped in a hug. He fends off the jealousy he knows is misplaced as he watches them pull away.

"Please. Not yet." she whispers to Wesley pleadingly before brushing past Angel as she runs from the room. Angel's brows furrow and he follows behind her and grabs her arm gently.

"Buffy, are you… you okay?" he asks with concern and she just looks up at him, her eyes teary as she claims to need a moment. Angel feels the burning desire to know what has Buffy almost in tears, because it isn't often to see her in them, as he makes his way back to his office but when he gets back in Wesley says nothing. Angel takes that as a sign of loyalty toward her and he respects that, even if it annoys him to no end.

So to distract himself and get done what needs to be done, he sits down across from Wes and begins sketching out pages of unusual characters, continuously being distracted by the desperate need to know what's going on with the love of his life.

When he's finally done, he rips the page off of the sketchpad and hands it to Wesley every time.

Faith, Willow, Fred, Buffy, and Xander eventually saunter into Angel's office, Buffy passing out coffees as he struggles with his first try at the translation.

"You know, this would be a lot easier if you all weren't hovering." Angel says through gritted teeth.

"Take your time." Wesley tells him and Fred backs him up, "No rush." she insists as Angel scowls down at the paper. After a moment he offers up his notepad.

"I think that's it." he tells them and Wesley, Fred, and Willow rush forward to look as Buffy and Xander hang back and watch. Research was never her thing and Faith was too distracted by thoughts of Gunn while Xander's just got way too much on his mind to even think straight about anything.

"What's it?" Cordelia questions uneasily from the doorway and everyone turns to face her.

"Passage from Lilah's beastie book. The one Angelus destroyed after the big booming voice threatened to rensoul him." WEsley explains as he takes a slow sip from his coffee.

"Angel's been visualizing the text, trying to recreate it." Fred provides, doing the same.

"Just a little thing I can do." Angel smiles and Cordelia attempts to compose her features carefully.

"You think there's something in that book, high and spotty didn't want us to know about?" she questions, the fear bubbling in her stomach.

"He's definitely hiding something." Buffy agrees as Wesley reads over Angel's translation.

"I recognize the text. It's early philorian code system. Um, green.. Cart like vehicle eats…" Wesley pauses as he reads over the characters and meets Angel's eyes as he reads the final translation. "I am not a bucket head."

"Damn it." Angel growls, chewing on the end of his pen.

"It's a tricky language. An inverted serif can alter the meaning of an entire passage."

"What now?" Cordelia asks, infusing hopelessness in her voice. On the inside she's rejoicing. If they got their hands on that text…

"I try again." Angel replies, his jaw set and Cordelia clenches her jaw. He looks up at them, with his scatter look and everyone but Buffy moves to different corners of the room to wait.

"Try this one." Angel says hopefully, after what seems like the hundredth draft. Wesley scans the paper and looks up toward Angel with a grimace.

"Something about strangling poultry." he tells him and Angel sighs, throwing the notepad in his hand down on the desk.

"That's it. I gotta get out of here." Angel growls halfheartedly starting toward the door. But Lorne, Buffy, Cordelia and Faith come in before he gets the chance to leave.

"Ah ah ah. Easy does it, compadre. No huffy exits before I spill the joyous news." Lorne sing songs.

"About the baby?" Angel wonders, his interest peaking noticeably.

"About El Jefe?" Cordelia asks and Lorne shakes his head to both.

"Uh, no and no. My sources got nothing on mystical birthin' or the big Kahuna. But Wanda—that demon you recommended—what a peach, by the way. Anyway, she sold me this cleansing abracadabra to clear my muddled mind."

"You're empathic again?" Fred verbalizes with a hopeful grin.

"Please...you think this Dungeons & Dragons cloak is a fashion statement? I got to do this whole song and dance—" Lorne rambles holding up his black cape to prove his point.

"Hey I think it's very dungeon chic." Xander compliments goofily and Lorne smiles.

"Well, we're getting nowhere. If you need extra hands…" Wesley trails off but Lorne refuses.

"Sorry, I can only take my two. Ritual has to be performed solo. Just me and my shadow, secluded in a dark, dusty nowhere land. Ugh. But the upside is, I should be 'all systems go' come sunrise."

"Then you'll be able to read me?" Cordelia smiles tensely and Lorne turns to her happily.

"No worries, dumpling. Come morning, I will be a lean, mean, belly-reading machine." he says excitedly heading down to get prepared.

xxxxxxx

Dawn hesitates outside Conner's bedroom, her hand positioned and getting ready to knock when Conner comes barreling out of his room, full speed ahead. He immediately rams into Dawn and they both stumble backward.

"Oh god. I'm sorry…" he trails off, the words he had practiced over and over again failing him. He was actually on his way to go talk to her and sort this thing through. He couldn't take the not talking with her.

"Its fine. My fault anyway." she groans, holding a hand to her throbbing head. Seeing him makes her stomach flutter in a way she imagines Buffy's does when she's near Angel.

"Did you, uh, want something?" Conner asks fearfully, gulping down a greedy gulp of air as he chickens out and lets her speak instead.

"Look, this whole thing with you and Cordy is weird for me. Okay? You gotta give me that. I mean I grew up while her, Buffy, Angel, Willow, Xander, Oz and Giles saved the world. I was a little kid in a grown up world. But then we come here and I meet you and… then I find out you and Cordelia got all groiny and I freaked. I mean you're my age and you're having a kid…" Conner looks away ashamed but Dawn moves closer to him and shakes her head.

"But that doesn't matter. None of it matters. You're my… friend and I wanna help you, in whatever way I possibly can." Dawn says sincerely taking a deep, needed breath after rambling on so long.

"Do you mean all that?" he asks, his heart budding with hope as she stares up at him. He can see so much emotion written into the features of her face and he loves it.

"Yeah, I really do." Dawn says huskily as Conner moves his hand to the back of her neck and pulls her in.

xxxxxxx

Lorne looks around carefully as he pads down to the basement, pausing at the door and noticing the darkness that engulfs the entire room.

"Oh, fudgicle." he whines before taking out his flashlight and walking forward. He sets up a few white candles on a table and lights them methodically, one by one. He pulls his hood over his head and picks up a small leather bound book, flipping to a specially marked page and beginning to chant wordlessly as Cordelia discreetly sneaks up behind him. She raises her arm, struggling internally, as she steels herself to stab him. But before she can go through with it, the lights are flicked on and she whirls around to see Angel on her one side and Buffy on her other.

"Angel…" Cordelia starts pleadingly, ready to spit out an explanation for her rash almost actions. She notices his unwavering expression before turning the other way to flee, only to be greeted by an armed Fred, Willow, Xander and Faith.

"Has Cordy been a bad, bad girl?" Lorne asks as he shakes an eight ball he uncovers from under a cloth. The dark liquid inside swirls around and the small triangle inside reads 'Definitely.'

"The eight ball never lies." Faith quips as the others look on furiously and Xander does his best to stifle his emotions. No one said this was going to be easy.


	14. Chapter 13

A/N: So I'm back pretty soon, I know. But I figured I'd give you guys a surprise and upload another chapter tonight. I want to thank everyone who reviewed the last one already, I really appreciate it and it shows me people are still reading. Anyway this chapter is shorter than the rest but I promise to upload again soon. Enjoy! And don't forget to drop a review. It's really appreciated.

* * *

**Carpe Noctum**

_Chapter 13_

"All this time it was you, wasn't it?" Angel asks rhetorically, shaking his head in frustration as the others close in. She was the one pulling the strings and causing al the chaos.

"Took you long enough to figure it out but nice turn with the Lorne bait. You know, there was a time I would've seen that one coming eons before it ever crossed your tiny little mind." Cordelia tells him through her teeth.

"Because you're so clever." Faith says sarcastically, shaking her head back and forth.

"On the scale of you to me, pretty damn." Cordelia retorts easily and Faith cocks her gun.

"Until now." Buffy corrects, looking toward Faith. A silent understanding passing between them. Faith nods before lowering her gun, just slightly, to show Buffy she gets it.

"All good things. So, what finally tipped off the great detective?" Cordelia sighs looking to Angel for an answer.

"Tongue, slip of." he replies simply.

My sweet baby.

"'My sweet.' Same phrase the Beastmaster kept using when he was whispering in Angelus's head. Thought it was a bit femme for the booming macho act." Angel says smugly and Cordelia scowls and throws her hands up in exaasperation.

"That's it? I get away with bringing the world down around you and two eentsy words tingle your spider sense?" she demands angrily.

"Well Buffy's slayer dream helped cement what we already knew. What he found out as Angelus. All the circumstantial led to you." Wesley speaks up, his voice even and informative as he tries to keep his cool.

"Just needed to be sure." Buffy tells her as she puts a hand on her hip.

"Little late to the table, but I might have a few scraps left." Cordelia offers, an evil smirk spreading across her face.

"Why are you doing this, Cordy?" Xander asks desperately. He wants to know why she would do this. Why she would become evil. She's seen what it does to people. Jenny. Harmony. He just _needs _to know why.

"This thing isn't Cordelia." Angel tells him, but Xander isn't sure he believes it.

"Is that what you think, hero?" Cordelia smiles, shaking her head in pity.

"She would never hurt her friends like this." Wesley insists and Cordelia falters. For a second, her eyes flit over to Xander but he looks away and her eyes narrow as she turns to Wes.

"Or maybe you just don't know me very well." she growls at him. Angel makes his way over to her and shakes his head sadly.

"We don't want to know you."

Cordelia snarls as she pulls a dagger from her side. She lifts it and attempts to stab Angel but Buffy is there before she can strike, snatching it away from her as Angel grabs Cordelia by the neck and starts to choke her. Cordelia screams as loud as she can with the limited breath she has as she squirms in Angel's grip.

"Where's Cordelia?" he grinds out just before someone tackles Angel to the ground.

"Xander!" Buffy shouts in surprise as Xander and Angel roll around and Faith goes after a fleeing Cordelia. Angel gives Willow and Buffy a pleading look before he knocks Xander out and sets out after Cordelia, him and Buffy following Faith's lead.

xxxxxxx

Conner's lips are brushing over Dawn's when they hear it.

"Conner!" Cordelia screams, and both of them take off full speed ahead toward the basement. They skid into the room just in time to see Angel squeezing Cordy's neck. Xander and Angel tussle and his father knocks Xander out before grabbing Cordy. Conner doesn't have time to think as he pushes his father away instinctively. Angel shoves into Buffy and Wesley. All three of them tumble to the ground as Faith, Willow, and Fred move in to fight. Conner easily knocks Fred away, turning to Willow just as she's about to fire her tranquilizer gun. But he's too quick and redirects her dart toward Angel. It sticks him in the abdomen and he grasps his stomach as he attempts to keep his vision focused.

"Connor, wait! Cordy's not what you think." Angel tries to explain as he staggers to his feet, but Conner scowls and turns to go. Faith moves in and sends a few blows his way, but he hits her with the but of her gun, sending her flying across the room. Conner grabs Cordelia's hand and snatches Dawn as he tries to make his way out.

"Conner, no! What are you doing?" Dawn screams frenetically as Cordelia and Conner drag her from the room.

"Dawn!" Buffy shouts, running after them to try and catch up. Cordelia runs off with Dawn as Conner aims the tranquilizer he stole from

Faith, at Buffy. He takes a deep breath before pulling the trigger and Buffy falls to her knees, right beside Angel.

"Come on!" Cordelia yells as she holds Dawn by her hair and motions for Conner to join them. He sweeps the two girls from the room, leaving the rest scrambling behind.

"What... are...you?" Angel slurs just before he falls face first into the cement. Buffy mutters Dawn's name before she too passes out completely, right alongside him.

Lorne's eight ball rolls out of his hand and Faith limps over to pick it up. She shakes her head as she sees the answer.

Ask again later.

xxxxxxx

Gunn walks into the lobby where Angel, Faith, Xander, Buffy Fred, Willow, Wesley, and Lorne are sitting idly.

"Sorry, just got your message. Being close to Electric Gwen can really screw your equipment. What... the hell happened to you?" Gunn trails off, looking between each and every one of them.

"Cordy's evil. Nice suit." Fred compliments as she holds and ice pack to her face.

"Yeah, you clean up nice." Faith compliments, before grimacing at the words leaving her mouth. Could she get anymore cheesy?

"It's not Cordy." Angel insists but Xander shakes his head. Something is just not rubbing him right about this. It may be the fact that the woman he's in love with is pregnant with Angel's son's baby and is also evil. That might set off his personal alarm system.

"We don't know that for certain." Wesley hedges, still unclear and unsure of the details. Gunn throws his hands up to stop them from going further, so he can a grip on what's going on.

"Whoa. Back it up for the new guy. You saying popping mama threw you a beating?" he questions, his brow lifting in surprise.

"Kid Vicious did the heavy lifting. Cordy just mostly mwa-ha-ha'd at us." Lorne sighs, sipping his drink slowly and allowing the heat from his scotch to warm up his body.

"Why?" Gunn wonders and Angel provides a one word answer as an explanation.

"Beastmaster."

"You think she's working for him?" Gunn theorizes but the others shake their heads.

"She _is _the Master." Willow tells him and Gunn puts his hand to his head.

"Guy steps out for a few hours, half the place goes super-villain." he muses, sitting beside Lorne on the couch.

"You're telling me." Faith chuckles humorlessly as she kicks her feet up on the coffee table in thel obby. She has a feeling this explanation is going to get real wordy and she's just preparing herself for the onslaught.

"Conner's not a part of this." Angel insists halfheartedly.

"Except for when he dragged Dawnie out of here as a hostage." Xander spits and Lorne nods in agreement.

"Also, evidence upside my head to the contrary." he points to his forehead, drink in hand.

"He's just... confused... again." Angel sighs and Buffy grabs his hand to console him. "He wont hurt her. I'm sure of it." Angel tells her firmly and Buffy bites her lip anxiously, hoping he's right.

"Now we know what she's been doing with him all this time. She was grooming him…" Faith says with disgust.

"...as her champion." Wesley adds and Xander clenches his jaw. All this time. He was the one with the most contact with her. He _should _have seen the signs. The problem is, there were none. She seemed normal. Like Cordelia. Most of the time. Apart from the being with Conner part.

"She's the evil genius that's been two-stepping all over us. How? And when?" Gunn shakes his head and grabs Lorne's drink from the demons hand. "Give me a sip of that."

"Hey." Lorne whines sourly and Gunn shrugs as he swallows a healthy gulp.

"Has she been like this since she got back from that higher wherever?" Buffy inquires and Angel shrugs with the lack of knowledge.

"What about that amnesia thing? Was that a fake-out?" Gunn suggests, taking another sip form Lorne's cup.

"Or a side effect. Descending to a lower dimension was probably disorienting." Wesley reasons.

"Or maybe this thing was curled deep inside for the trip on some kind of, you know, autopilot. Look, all we know for sure is that the real damage didn't start until after Lorne's spell." Angel points out.

"Oh, my God. We woke it up." Fred cries with wide eyes.

"That's what I read. That's what Wolfram and Hart sucked out of my noodle. It wasn't Cordelia's future. It was the smacker-jack surprise." Lorne realizes, slapping his hand to his face. How hadn't he seen that?

"Damn thing's been playing us right from the start." Gunn runs his hand over his shaved head and heaves a sigh.

"From the inside... where it could do the most damage. Everything the Beast couldn't have done, it was this thing. Spiked my blood at Gwen's. Snuck into the vault, killed Manny."

"Wait a minute. When Gwen and I came in, faux Cordy didn't have any blood on its clothes. How'd it abracadabra that?" Gunn wonders as him and the rest of the fang gang recall the event.

"Lizzie Borden. It wasn't wearing any." Wes informs them while Faith, Xander, and Buffy look on in confusion.

"Stripped down, then gave Manny forty whacks." Angel concludes, seeing how it all plays out in his mind.

"Quick sponge down in the sink, and—" Gunn starts.

"Voila. Shower-fresh murder." Lorne finishes, snatching his drink back from Gunn and taking a swig.

"Lizzie Borden?" Buffy asks, her nose scrunching up in confusion. Willow pats her back.

"Murderer." Willow says shortly.

"Vamp?" Buffy inquires but Willow shakes her head.

"Human." Wesley answers and Buffy's mouth forms an 'O'.

"Taking out the Svear priestess was a lot easier. Slip out while the heroes are chasing their tails ...and slaughter the only hope of banishing her pet Beast." Angel understands.

"Still kind of lost here." Xander cuts in, Willow, Faith and Buffy nodding in utter agreement.

"Yeah, way off in the land of not knowing here. Anyone wanna explain?" Buffy advises and Angel turns to her.

"Its what this thing has been doing all along. How its been toying with us. While everyone was reeling from that failure, it was making sure my soul was off the market, it's the one who took my soul." Angel explains. Faith nods in enlightenment.

"And the vision of the spell to re-ensoul you?" Fred prompts.

"Misdirection." he explains.

"Getting everyone to look over here while the real action was happening over there." Buffy says, catching on to Angel's train of thought. He sends a smile her way.

"That explains why my mojo's been gunked up. Queen Bee-yatch put the whammy on me." Lorne huffs, putting his glass down.

"And it let the monster out of the box. ore misdirection, more blood, all designed to keep us off balance."

"It was Cordelia. She murdered Lilah." Wesley lets out and Fred squeezes his arm to comfort him. She may have not understood Lilah and Wes's relationship but she knows she cares about Wes and if he's grieving, the least she can do is support him.

"We don't know if it's really Cordy." Buffy points out and Angel agrees wholeheartedly.

"Or what she's got baking in her oven." Fred argues.

"Evil and pregnant? I'm guessing it ain't cookies." Willow concludes meeting the gazes of the rest of the gang warily.


	15. Chapter 14

A/N: Hey everyone! So this is generally shorter than usual but I promise I'll update very soon to make up for it. To any Dollhouse fans who might be reading this, I wrote a little Angel/Dollhouse crossover drabble and because its in the crossover section it hasn't got much attention. I would really appreciate it if any of you would go and read it and maybe drop a review to tell me what you think? Its my first dollhouse like piece and I'd like to hear if I did any good or not. It's called Reality vs Fantasy. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and look forward to another one soon.

* * *

**Carpe Noctum**

_Chapter 14_

"Are you sure Angel won't be able to follow us?" Cordelia checks as she rubs her belly absently.

"I was careful." Conner assures her, gently pulling Dawn inside and shutting the door behind him.

"How careful?" Cordelia demands but Conner ignores her, pushing Dawn into the back room and starting to chain her up. Cordelia follows him in as Dawn struggles.

"Why were they trying to hurt you?" Conner asks as he finally clamps the manacles around Dawn's wrist. She looks up at him with terrified eyes and it takes all his willpower to think of his child and look away.

"You know why. They're afraid of you, of me, what our love has created. They were gonna kill it and me if you hadn't come." Cordelia whimpers and Dawn rattles her chains.

"Conner, that's not what happened!" she screams and Conner meets her gaze, his eyes clouded with confusion and indecision.

"Why would he do that to you?" he asks Cordelia, looking for explanation.

"Because he hates you. I didn't wanna believe it, but he does. He hates you for being with me. He can't stand the fact that he lost, that he'll never know the feel of my touch or the warmth of my lips." He stays completely still as Cordelia's lips ghost over his. He can't help but thin they're the wrong lips.

"Conner, remember what I told you! She's lying." Dawn cries, wincing as Cordelia kisses Conner.

"You were right about Angel. He's an animal, and he's turned everyone against us." Cordelia says sadly as she pulls him into a hug.

"I'll kill them all before I let them hurt you." Conner whispers in her ear.

"My sweet, sweet boy." Cordelia coos, kissing his cheek and smiling evilly in Dawn's direction.

xxxxxxx

Willow finds Xander in one of the abandoned rooms, his back to her, and knocks as she walks in.

"Hey, Xan. How ya feeling?" she asks as she sits beside him. He sighs and meets her eyes, miserably. She can tell something's up and she wants to help.

"Like someone just chewed up my heart and then shoved it back in my chest for laughs." he jokes halfheartedly, sighing dejectedly.

"Is this about Cordelia?" Willow hints and Xander turns to face her completely.

"Look, Will. I know everyone's saying that wasn't Cordy but … I think it was, in a way." Xander tries to explain, his voice gaining that momentum when he truly believes something. The thing she used to love most about him.

"What do you mean?" she prompts, looking to see more of the old Xander come back to life again before her eyes. Willow almost wants to call Buffy to bear witness, but then she remembers she's going through her own hard time, which is mostly her fault. So instead she listens to Xander speak intently.

"I think she may be possessed or something, but she's still in there. I know it." he tells her fiercely, begging her to see what he sees.

"You really think so?" Willow questions.

"I know so. We have to help her, Will." Xander pleads and all Willow can do is nod. Because its _Xander _and she loves him.

xxxxxxx

"Any luck?" Wesley looks up from his book as Buffy and Angel walk into his office.

"Buffy and I swept the area 'til daybreak, checked the sewer tunnels in case they went underground, picked up their scent half a dozen times but…" Angel sighs and sits. He just wants to find Conner and to find Dawn. Its his main priority right now.

"If Connor doesn't want to be found, he won't. Wasting your time." Wesley tells them and Buffy nods agreeing with him. He really doesn't want to be found, that's for sure.

"I'm getting good at that, huh? It was all there right in front of me. I couldn't see it. I was too distracted to see." Angel mutters, shaking his head.

"Did exactly what it was supposed to. Play on your emotions to cloud your judgment. Draw your attention away so this thing could continue to murder anyone it... Least you had a reason for letting it happen." Wesley pushes himself out of his chair and toward the window.

"Wes, Lilah and I weren't exactly friends—" Angel stands up and turns to Wesley. He wants to say something, maybe apologize, or just let him know that he's there if he needs to talk or mourn or whatever.

"You were mortal enemies. Why should you care what happened to her?" Wesley interrupts him.

"Because you _did_." Angel explains and Wesley clears his throat and turns to his research. Buffy already knows this woman, Lilah, must have been the one Wes was thinking of earlier. It all makes sense.

"There's nothing here. If this thing could obliterate all references to the Beast, it's very unlikely it would leave its own bio laying about." Wes sighs and runs a hand through his rumpled hair in thought.

"What about pan-dimensional texts like the one Lilah—" Angel looks away and grimaces, and Buffy gives him a sympathetic look.

"I have Lorne reaching out to the black markets but it'll take time." Wes says, ignoring Angel and Buffy's discomfort.

"Great, another thing we don't have." Buffy sighs, while Angel slumps into a nearby chair. Wesley taps his books.

"Then let's go to the source." Wes tells them, the idea becoming clearer as he explains it. They could try and get help. The powers that be could provide them with what they need. "Whatever happened to Cordelia, it took place after her ascension to the higher planes. Maybe the Powers might be able to—"

"Last couple of times I've asked the Powers That Be for help they made it pretty damn clear they weren't in the business." Angel says matter of factly, his eyes flit to Buffy and he's assaulted by memories of the day that never happened. The day she doesn't _remember_. He doesn't exactly have a great track record with mediums to the powers that be.

"But at least one of those was to save Darla's life. A mass-murdering ex-vampire dying of syphilis? A strong 'no' is hardly a shock." Wesley points out and Buffy flashes back to the ascension. Its like déjà vu, Wes telling her the council wouldn't help Angel. Could the PTB really be that self absorbed? Or do they really have a plan, like Angel always used to say?

"You think the Powers couldn't see this thing was masquerading as Cordy? What it was doing to us? They didn't stop it because they didn't want to get their hands dirty. What we need is somebody who does. Somebody right in the middle of all this." And Angel knows exactly who to go to.

xxxxxxx

As Cordelia, Dawn, and Conner walk the streets of L.A. looking for another place to settle down, Dawn frantically assesses her options. Her arms are chained and Cordelia holds the end of them. If she can pull hard enough and run fast enough, its possible she can get away and maybe find the others. She waits until there's a corner coming up, and when Conner and Cordelia round it she pulls back with all her might, slamming her chains into the corner of the building. The metal snaps and she doesn't hesitate to take off in the opposite direction.

"Get her!" Cordelia screams and Dawn's feet pound the pavement, she looks back and sees Conner gaining on her, so she pushes her self harder until Cordy is out of sight and its only the two of them. Not even a few seconds later Conner has Dawn in his grasp and she slams her fist against his chest.

"Please, Conner. Don't do this. Please let me go." she begs, her eyes tearing up as she stares into his pained face.

"I…" Conner looks toward the way they came from and swallows hard. This is it. He can let her go and just tell Cordy she got away on her own. She is the sister of the slayer, it would make sense. He starts to back away when Cordelia comes darting from the shadows, a metal pipe in hand, and knocks Dawn unconscious.

"Jesus, do I have to do everything around here?" she whines, tossing the pipe over her shoulder casually and pointing to Dawn's limp body. "Well? Pick her up. We've gotta get a move on."

Conner sighs and picks Dawn up off the ground, throwing her lithely over his shoulder.


	16. Chapter 15

A/N: Told ya I'd update soon. Bet its a lot sooner than you expected, huh? I figured why not upload another one today, everyone of you has been so great. I've enjoyed all the feedback I've gotten (especially the reviews) and I just wanted to thank you in the best way I know how. Again, sorry to be a bother but for any Dollhouse fans I would love you forever if you could go take a look at my Angel/Dollhouse crossover called Reality vs Fantasy and maybe leave a review? It would really make my day if you did. Anyway, enjoy chapter 15! See you next time.

* * *

**Carpe Noctum**

_Chapter 15_

"Scented candles, couple of broken pieces of the Muo-Ping, and some toiletries that smell way too pretty to be evil." Fred sighs as her, Gunn and Willow rifle through Cordelia's belongings with no such luck. Angel sifts through some papers on the desk before finding a small metal disk.

"Not much to go on. As insidious lairs go, it kept Cordy's room nice and tidy. I think it even vacuumed." Willow squeaks, gesturing to the clearly clean bedroom.

"Keep working on a way to locate this thing." Angel advises, pocketing the disk and heading toward the door. "If Buffy and I aren't back in a couple of hours—"

"You're dead, we're screwed, end of the world." Faith decides with a nod as she steps in the doorframe.

"Or, you could stay here with us. Here's nice." Fred mentions with a nervous smile. She doesn't want either of them to die.

"I've done this before. Don't worry. Walk in the park." Angel says carelessly, walking out of the room with the others to find Buffy waiting for him.

"Ready?" he asks and she smiles brightly, holding her battle ax up as confirmation.

"The question is, are you ready, Mr. alternate dimension man? You are the expert after all." Buffy quips. She missed this. The playful banter, just being around him puts her in a better mood. And she kinda feels guilty because hello? Dawn and Conner are still MIA but somehow Angel makes it almost bearable.

"Yeah well, I get around." Angel retorts with a cocky smile. Buffy's eye brow quirks and his smirk fades as his words process in his brain. "That sounded much better in my head." he points out and Buffy grabs onto his arm and shakes her head as they walk.

"I bet it did. Come on, lets go."

xxxxxxx

"More hooks? Great." Cordelia complains as she bats at one of the many hooks hanging in the new building they've sought out. She wants to throw Angel off as much as she can.

"We could try to find someplace else." Conner offers but Cordelia shakes her head. There's not enough time to do anything else.

"No. This'll do for now." Conner frowns as he sets Dawn's body down on the ground. "Hey, it's okay. We're going to be all right."

"I know. I just—I can't believe he tried to kill you." Conner sighs, shaking his head in disbelief, before suddenly perking up. "Maybe it wasn't really Angel."

"Connor." Cordelia challenges but Conner keeps going. Because he has to, because he needs to.

"Angelus could've tricked us again. And—"

"It was Angel. You know it was." she tells him and Conner hangs his head.

"Everything he said about how I could help make the world a better place, about being a champion..." he trails off.

"Lies... meant to keep you in your place where he can watch you, control you." Cordelia spits but Conner still seeks an explanation.

"But Fred, Buffy, Faith, Gunn, Wesley, even Lorne—I thought they were... good." Conner tells her, his voice tinged with desperation. They are good, right?

"What does that mean, really?" Cordelia questions, walking over to Dawn and looking down at her. "Being good? Doing the right thing? By who's judgment? Good, evil—they're just words, Connor. Concepts of morality they forced around your neck to yank you wherever they please. You're with me now. You don't have to live by their rules. You remember why?"

"'Cause we're special." Conner replies with a slight smile.

"That's right. We're special, and our baby is going to be extraordinary." she promises as Dawn stirs and moans. "Now, tie her up before she gains consciousness. We don't need another half assed escape plan."

xxxxxxx

Buffy whirls around and knocks a demon flat on its back and decapitates it with her battle ax in one clean, swift motion. Another demon grabs Buffy from behind and throws her to the ground causing her to let out a grunt. Angel moves in with stealth and precision, snapping its neck.

"I really hate the park." Angel quips holding his hand out to help Buffy up, which she takes gratefully. Angel picks up his sword from the ground and Buffy follows him into the chamber in front of them. They both see another demon and Angel moves behind it, his sword ready to strike when it turns around.

"Oh! Angel, geez. Don't they knock in your dimension?" the demon demands and Angel lowers his weapon casually.

"Sorry. Wasn't sure it was you." he shrugs, while Buffy puts her hands on her hips.

"Powerful demon Skip at your service. Hey, I—I got some more buffalo wings and, uh, the game's on at five if you want to just... Oh, who's this?" Skip leers at Buffy, causing her to scoff.

"This," Buffy gestures to herself with her unweapon clad hand. "Is about to kick your ass unless you give the man what he wants."

"Ooh fiesty. You must be the slayer. Heard a lot about you." Skip says appreciatively and Angel scowls, and not just because he needs information.

"That's great. But see, I'm a little pressed right now. When was the last time you saw Cordelia?" he starts the inquisition, while Skip stares innocently.

"Who?" he questions dumbly and Buffy takes a menacing step forward.

"Quit with the non descript." she snaps and Angel moves along side her.

"She told me you were her guide when she decided to become half-demon." Angel explains and Skip scratches his head as if it were a trick question. Buffy taps her foot impatiently.

"She did, huh? Okay, look, I wanted to give you the heads up but you know how the Powers are—always making with the big hush hush." the demon shrugs and points secretively toward the ceiling. The powers that be.

"What do you know?" Angel wonders as he paces back and forth, waiting for Skip to answer him. He wants to get this over with, he wants to find Conner and Dawn. He needs to find them before its too late.

"This is going to be really hard for you to accept but Cordelia has ascended to a higher plane." Skip says sympathetically and Angel stops short.

"Oh, I know. She's back." he replies and Skip tilts his head.

"Back?"

"Or at least something that looks like her." Angel informs him and both he and Buffy watch the demons expression.

"Well, wait. Nobody comes back from paradise." Skip insists, before his eyes carefully fall on Buffy and he shrugs. "Okay, a Slayer _once_, but that—"

"So you haven't heard anything." Buffy prompts and Skip shakes his head in denial.

"Uh, not since her ascension. Oh, it was beautiful. Should've been there." Skip says dreamily.

"You were a part of that?" Angel prods and Skip nods.

"It's in the job description. As Cordelia's guide I'm there for all the important events." he says informatively and Buffy crosses her arms suspiciously.

"Except her welcome back party." she states as the light from the torch mounted on the wall flickers back and forth, casting shadows in every corner. Something is definitely wrong here. She can feel it and so can Angel.

"So why didn't the Powers invite you to that one?" Angel questions, tossing his sword gently over his shoulder.

"Mysterious ways. They can really drive a guy nuts." Skip laughs lightheartedly, trying to keep his cool.

"Or maybe if you had known something you might've warned us. No, about the only one not keen on that slipping out is the one pulling her strings."

"Not following you there, champ." Skip tries to say as if he doesn't know what Angel is talking about.

"You said it yourself, you were there. Guiding Cordelia to her ascension, seeing her off to a higher plane which is exactly where this thing needed her to be to make its move. So, I'm thinking either you've been played for a dupe like the rest of us or you've been in on this from the start, Skippy." Skip starts to laugh nervously and Angel joins in, sarcastically.

"Angel, buddy, whatever's going on, I'm telling you true…" the demon trails off, reaching out and revealing the dagger in his hand. "Not a dupe." he finishes, shoving the dagger into Buffy's shoulder with a smile.

xxxxxxx

"Wes, Xander told me something that I think we should take into consideration." Willow ventures as Xander stands tall at her side in the lobby. Fred and Wesley looks up from their books while Gunn and Faith cease their sparring.

"And what would that be?" Wesley inquires, marking his page before setting the book her was reading aside.

"Well, when Angel and Buffy were doing that mind thing, Cordy told me to go down and stop Conner because he was about to kill Angel." Xander tells them and Faith shakes her head.

"That doesn't make any sense, she would have been the one to tell him to do it." she points out, plopping down on the couch and Gunn following after her.

"I know, which is why I think Cordelia may be trapped with whatevers possessing her." Xander says seriously.

"It makes sense." Gunn agrees, putting his feet up on the coffee table.

"How can you be certain?" Wesley asks but Xander just looks at Wesley with confidence.

"There were just moments... I just do okay? We have to help her." Xander declares and Fred seems to agree with him.

"And we will, Xan. If Cordy's in there we'll help get her back. I promise." Willow vows, touching Xander's shoulder lightly.

"So what were saying is that Cordelia might not be a goner?" Faith questions and Wesley gets up to look through the piles of books he has stacked.

"Its possible, nothing is for certain yet."

"We better hit the books and see what we can do before Angel and Buffy get back. That way we'll be prepared." Fred advises, grabbing a set of her own books and flipping through them.

"Agreed." Xander says, sitting down beside the others and waiting for Willow to hand him his very own pile of books to look through. Faith looks at the research party forming and grimaces unpleasantly.

"I'm not so much a book person… as I am a …" Faith trails off, a devious grin on her face. She could finish that anyway she wants but she'll leave it to Gunn to assume the worst.

"Same here." Gunn agrees, turning and sharing an intense look with Faith.

"Very well, go and spar or do what it is need to." Wes gestures as him, Willow, Xander and Fred hit the books.

"Wicked." Faith replies before facing Gunn. "Weapons check?"

"Weapons check." Gunn smiles, taking off for the arsenal, Faith hot on his heels.

xxxxxxx

Buffy jumps into the action as Angel swings his sword across Skip's chest. The metal barely scrapes his outer armor and Skip grabs Angel by his neck.

"Not like last time, is it, monkey boy?" he taunts and Angel squirms just as Buffy hits Skip from behind.

"Didn't you mother teach you any manners?" Buffy quips, delivering a roundhouse kick to the demon's face and scoffing. "Demons these days." she says disappointedly. Buffy falls back as Angel takes center stage, wailing on Skip but producing no results. Skip merely laughs as he picks Angel up and throws him into one of the cave's walls. Buffy takes the front line and the both of them circle one another.

"Geez, you really got an iron will to live huh? The poison in that thing should have killed you by now." Skip notices and Buffy shrugs easily.

"What can I say? I'm a fighter. But you already knew that didn't you?" she retorts, launching herself back into the fight. She brings her fist up to punch him but Skip grabs her arm and hurls her across the room.

"You know, the worst part about signing on for this gig?" Skip says as he punches Angel in the gut. "Was having to take a dive when you rescued that runt Billy from his box of fire. I mean, come on! You really think a guy built like this would be so easy to drop?"

"This time we do it for real, champion. This time... you lose." Skip smiles as he towers over Angel on the ground. Buffy counts and waits for the perfect time to make a move.

xxxxxxx

Conner's eyes glaze over as he stares out into the night, Cordelia's chatter penetrating his thoughts.

"He won't give up. You know that, right? He won't stop until he finds us." Cordelia rambles as she paces the room.

"Let him come. I can take him." Conner assures her, his fist clenched at his side as he waits. He doesn't want to, but he will if he has to.

"Come over here." Cordelia requests sweetly and Conner walks over to her side. "I want you to know what you're fighting for." Cordelia explains, taking Conner's hand and pulling it toward her belly.

"God could you two be any grosser?" Dawn snorts as she watches the exchange, her wrists tied with thick rope. Conner sighs and starts to pull away but Cordelia snatches his hand back and places it on her stomach.

"It moved." Conner gasps as he feels it moving underneath Cordelia's skin.

"Of course it did. That's what babies do when they're happy." Cordy smiles. "I can't tell you how thankful I am that I found someone like you. I just wish they could let us be happy."

"I'll make them." Conner promises, wondering at the being inside Cordelia's stomach. His baby.

"You can't. They're too afraid. But maybe when they see how beautiful our baby is…" Cordelia trails off suggestively.

"You think that would change how they feel?" Conner asks hopefully. Because he's sure that would make everything better. His child is going to be amazing and beautiful and his, he can feel it.

"Our baby's going to change everything, Connor." Cordelia guarantees, stroking his head. Dawn makes gagging noises.

"How soon... before we can show them?"

"A week? Maybe two?" Cordelia muses. She sighs and shakes her head. "But he'll find us before that. I know he will. He'll find us and he'll—"

"Angel isn't the only one who's going to find you. Buffy will and she'll kill you before you even have a chance to unleash your spawn." Dawn tells Cordelia smugly.

"I won't let them. I promise." Conner tells his baby. He will not let anyone hurt his son or daughter.

"I don't want you killing each other. That's never what I wanted. Maybe there's another way. A way to bring our baby into the world now—before anyone else can hurt us." Cordelia offers and Conner gets noticeably less tense.

"How?" he questions. He'll do anything to get this over with. Anything to have everyone realize this baby is a blessing, not a curse.

"I'll need some very special things. Do you think you can get them for me?" Cordelia smiles before she looks over at Dawn. "You wouldn't happen to be a virgin would you?"

xxxxxxx

Skip raises his hand to Angel and Buffy comes up behind.

"Actually, I'm thinking not." she says, kicking Skip in his back and falling to the ground, sort of the way she fought that red winged demon when she got drunk with Spike. Skip picks her up and tosses her aside, moving toward Angel again.

"Well, now, this is just embarrassing. A slayer and her champion, destined for greatness. Don't see much of it here. Actually all I see patheticness." Skip taunts as he towers over the two of them.

"Tell me... what happened to Cordelia." Angel commands as he struggles to get to his feet.

"Or, what? You'll bleed on me some more?" the demon mocks, waving his dagger around. Angel raises his fist but is knocked down by a wave of Skip's arm.

"You know, I've always wondered. How many chunks you gotta hack off a vampire before he goes all dust bunny?" Skip ponders, mentally strategizing the perfect technique. He wants there to be pain. A lot of it to be exact.

"Tell me what happened…" Angel demands, standing tall as Buffy regroups.

"Yeah. Heard that part." Skip shrugs, refusing to give them any answers. Angel and Buffy deliver a number of powerful blows to Skip's torso sending him staggering backward. Angel grabs onto a chain hanging over the demons head, swinging over to Buffy's side.

"What are you, Tarzan? See, this is the nefarious meat of it, pal. You die never knowing what really happened one of your own. Gotta respect the classics."

Angel snaps the long chain in two and hands one to Buffy. Together they wrap the chains around their knuckles and beat on the demon repeatedly.

"You really think that's gonna—" Skip staggers as Angel rears back one last time and sends his fist crashing into Skip's face. The demon falls to the floor, unconscious

"Yeah, I do." Angel replies quietly and Buffy chuckles.

"Well, our dates never get boring do they?" she asks, a sparkle in her eye as they bend down and start to drag Skip's body along with them. Angel can't help but smile back. She said date.

xxxxxxx

Willow smiles broadly as she scans the pages of the book in her hand. This is it. What they've been looking for. She's on her way to gather the ingredients for the spell she's sure will help when the a portal opens up right behind her. Angel and Buffy step through, an unconscious demon in their hands and blood dripping out of Buffy's shoulder.

"What happened?" Faith asks in surprise as the portal closes up and disappears.

"We had words." Angel says simply, dumping the body on the floor.

"Between the pummeling?" Lorne wonders aloud and Buffy waves at Lorne.

"Whatever's happened to Cordy, he's a part of it. We need to bind him to this dimension. Before he wakes up would be nice." Angel advises as Skip stirs.

Buffy reaches up and presses her fingers on the wound in her shoulder, wincing as they brush the flesh. "Well this sucks." she groans before collapsing, hitting the ground with an audible thump and Angel is at her side before anyone can even take a breath.

xxxxxxx

"Did you get everything else?" Cordelia asks as Conner stares at Dawn coming to, across the room.

"Yeah." he says softly, his voice laced with reluctance.

"I know what your heart is telling you, Connor, but it will lie to you if you let it. You have to trust me. Be sad, mourn for her, but never forget the truth. She's one of them. One of the average, normal people that fill this world. But what we're doing will elevate her life beyond that and give her death meaning. Her blood for our baby. That's more than fair, isn't it?"

Dawn shakes her head to clear the grogginess and try to get a grip on where she is. She hears Cordelia speaking and Conner kneels down beside her to check on her, his face void of emotion.

"Have you lost your mind Conner? You cant do this." Dawn whispers and before she knows it, Cordelia hits her and knocks her out again. The last thing she sees is him and the last thing she hears is Conner sighing.

xxxxxxx

Angel dips a rag in water and dabs at Buffy's wound. She winces but gives him a tentative smile in thanks.

"You're staying here." he tells her firmly and she scowls.

"I am not." Buffy refuses and Angel shakes his head.

"You need to rest."

"I'm fine. Really." she insists, hoisting herself up and staggering to her feet. "See? I'm ready-for-questioning girl. Promise."

Willow and Xander enter the room, interrupting the two.

"Skip is officially bound and ready for questioning." Willow says as Buffy and Angel look toward her.

"Good. Any news?" Buffy inquires and Xander nods eagerly.

"We think Cordelia might still be inside. Will's trying to put a spell together to destroy whatever it is that's possessing her." Xander says, hope budding inside his chest. Angel nods, still thinking Buffy should rest as the four of them make their way downstairs.

"Hey good binding spell Fred." Willow compliments as the others take in the demon bound inside a cylinder of red light and red sand.

"Sand of the red palm. A child's trick." Skip laughs.

"Then why don't you come out and play." Gunn smirks and Skip nods toward him.

"In time." he promises and Angel crosses his arms.

"You'll have a lot of that after we make your accommodations a little bit more permanent." Angel tells him. "Willow?"

"Sphere of the Infinite Agonies. Every second a lifetime. Should be able to whip one up in, um... ten minutes." Willow says skimming over the book in hand. Yep, maybe even less than ten.

"Everything you know or she starts whipping." Buffy threatens eagerly and Willow nods enthusiastically.

"And I'll help." Fred adds good-naturedly.

"Hey. Whoa." Skip puts his hands up in surrender. "I'm just a merc. I go where the deal is and not getting stuck in one of those? Bargain. Anybody got a cig?"

"Cordelia. Where is she?" Angel demands through gritted teeth.

"I don't know. This is your dimension, man, you tell me." Skip retorts with a shrug.

"The real Cordelia. Not this thing that's been posing as her." Buffy insists, putting her hands on her hips. Wherever _that _Cordelia is so is Conner, Dawn and that hell spawn.

"How'd I ever get spanked by such a chump nut? That thing which has turned your life into a burning ring of fire? She is the real Cordelia. Or at least she's in there somewhere. This whole thing…" Skip trails off and Gunn slams down his crossbow.

"Is it Cordy or not?" Gunn questions impatiently.

"Oh, it's her. She just ain't driving." Skip answers satisfied with everyone's expression.

"Knew it." Xander shouts and the others shoot him a 'not now' look.

"Something took control of her on the higher plane?" Angel asks the demon and it shakes its head.

"Drill a little deeper, Hoss. How you think she got there in the first place?"

Wesley paces in front of the demon.

"You're saying her ascension was all part of this thing's plan?" Wesley concludes.

"No, Cordelia was chosen to become a higher being because she's such a pure, radiant saint. Puh-lease." Skip scoffs, while Wes and Angel exchange a look. This goes a lot deeper than any of them knew. And now the truth is finally coming out and just in time for the apocalypse.


	17. Chapter 16

A/N: Hey everyone! So we're so close to 100 reviews and I'm rerally excited. I wanted to thank everyone who's been reading this and I really hope everyones enjoying it. I'm looking forward to your feedback.

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**Carpe Noctum**

_Chapter 16_

"_Vanu'esh. Katahn darh'im. Vajra'ha'esh. Vanu'esh. Katahn darh'im. Vajra'ha'esh_." Cordelia chants, sitting in a circle of white candles. Conner watches her from the back room. He gets up and makes his way over to the corner of the room, his gaze falling upon Dawn's sleeping form.

"_Vanu'esh. Katahn darh'im. Vajra'ha'esh. Vanu'esh. Katahn darh'im. Vajra'ha'esh. Vanu'esh. Katahn darh'im. Vajra'ha'esh_."

Dawn eyes blink open and she gasps as Conner kneels in front of her.

"It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you." he promises and Dawn shakes her head. Yeah, he's not going to hurt her but he's going to sacrifice her. She really feels safe.

"Liar…" she accuses looking away from his face. Conner sighs.

"Brought you some water." he says holding out the cup for her in offering. She knocks it out of his hand and meets his gaze, anger and hurt swirling in her blue orbs. She doesn't understand how he can do this.

"I'm sorry." he apologizes softly and her features melt.

"Don't do this Conner, please." Dawn begs, tears escaping her eyes and slowly descending down her cheeks. Conner reaches out to wipe her tear when a voice sounds.

"Listen."

"Somebody there?" Conner calls out, standing upright and searching the room for someone's figure. Cordelia's the only person it could be but wait she's still chanting in the other room.

"I've always been here... close to your heart. After all…" a sickly sweet voice says and a woman steps out of the shadows. "...isn't that where a mother belongs?"

xxxxxxx

"You really think it matters? I mean, nothing I tell you is gonna change what's gonna happen." Skip shrugs and Xander steps up in front of Angel to interfere.

"Cut the gloom and doom. What's taken over Cordy?" Xander demands, scowling at the demon encased in the red cylinder of light. He's getting sick of this thing's games. He wants answers.

"Something beyond your comprehension. To give it voice would rend your feeble brain into a quivering mass of—"

"Willow. Fred. Infinite agony." Angel cues as he starts to walk away. Willow and Fred raise their books and Skip panics, holding his hands up to stop them.

"OK, you got me. It doesn't even have a name." he explains lamely.

"Then what do you call it?" Faith counters cleverly.

"Oh, Master or 'Hey.'" he tells them, shrugging.

"Unspeakable horror for real this time." Lorne says nodding.

"Ah, it doesn't make sense. Cordy was made a higher being because she proved herself to the Powers by bearing their visions. This thing couldn't have—"

"Unless it maneuvered her to inherit the visions in the first place." Wesley interrupts Angel and they both share a knowingly gaze.

"Uh, oh. Better step on it. The rubes are catching up." Skip applauds and Faith scowls in annoyance.

"Can I kill this thing? Damn thing is getting on my nerves." Faith complains and Gunn pats her on the back soothingly. Faith relaxes slightly into his touch.

"It wasn't just her ascension. Everything that's happened to Cordy in the past few years—all of it—was planned." Angel realizes and Skip shakes his head smugly.

"You really think it stops with her, amigo? You have any concept of how many lines have to intersect in order for a thing like this to play out? How many events have to be nudged in just the right direction?" the demon explains, turning to Lorne.

"Leaving Pylea."

Then to Gunn.

"Your sister."

Then to Fred.

"Opening the wrong book."

Then to Willow.

"Your dead girlfriend."

Then to Faith.

"Meeting Buffy."

Then to Wesley.

"Sleeping with the enemy."

Then to Buffy.

"Your deaths and _then _sleeping with the enemy." Skip laughs before looking toward a guilty Angel. "Oh not you pretty boy, the other one." he snickers and Angel's brow furrows in confusion. The enemy? Angel looks to Buffy for answers but she looks away as do the other scoobies. There's sometihng they're not telling him.

"Gosh, I love a story with scope." Skip chuckles, breakign the silence and Gunn shakes his head resolutely. That's not how it works.

"No way. We make our own choices." Gunn insists and Skip shrugs it off.

"Yeah, sure. Cheese sandwich here, uh, when to floss. But the big stuff, like two vampires squeezing out a kid?" he prompts and Angel's expression darkens.

"Connor." Angel says grimly as things start fitting together.

"An impossible birth to make one possible." Wesley states as he also sees how the pieces fit and he's not liking where this is going.

"That's what the kid was designed for." Skip explains, trying to show them the bigger picture.

"To sleep with mother love?" Faith chuckles and Xander grimaces.

"To create a vessel." Angel explains.

"Look out. The monkey's thinking again." Skip taunts.

"Being inside a human makes it vulnerable, doesn't it? That's why it had to stay hidden. Why it needed to create something stronger to pour itself into." Angel says certainly, knowing the minute the words come out that they're true.

"Wait. So the big nasty inside of Cordy is going to give birth... to itself?" Gunn asks, his stomach getting slightly queasy.

"Circle of life. It's a beautiful thing." Skip says whimsically.

"How do we stop it?" Buffy demands, finally snapping out of her distracted stupor.

"That's the easy part, slick. All you gotta do is find Cordelia and chop her head off." Skip says easily and Xander's eyes widen and he shakes his head.

"Has to be another way." Xander says, refusing to believe that's the only way. He has to save Cordy. He just has to.

"Sure. Stab her in the heart, kidney, couple pokes in the lung—" Skip offers but Angel interrupts him.

"A way that won't kill Cordy in the process." he corrects.

"Takes a whole lot of cramming to get that much sweetness into a human. It's in every hair, every cell, every molecule of Cordelia's body and it ain't letting go 'til it got a brand new bag."

"What happens to Cordy then?" Fred wonders grimly, hoping there's a silver lining.

"Drained of her life force during labor. Those contractions are a real bitch." Skip shrugs again and Buffy moves closer, "It'll kill her?"

"Or she'll end up a head of cabbage. Either way she wont be able to do much." Skip says, not really caring either way. He knows they'll never find her or they'll be too late. So it doesn't really matter to him.

"What do you wanna do?" Wes asks turning to Xander, Angel and Buffy.

"The only thing you can do. Kill the woman you all love to save the world. Times like this? Really gotta suck being you." Skip says teasingly, amused by the groups situation. Willow looks to the others and nods to them.

"How do I find her? How?" Angel growls, wanting an answer.

"Well, I'd go with the Bu'shundi ritual but, uh, you're gonna need a sacred Hutamin paw for that—" Skip scoffs, laughing at the idea. They'll never get one of those in time.

"Got it." Lorne smiles, turning around and going into the desk he was sitting on. He's glad he knows where she used to keep it. He knew it might come in handy one day, what with all the apocalyptic things goign on it was bound to be useful someday. Looks like that day has come.

"What?" Skip asks in bewildered terror. They cant have it. He just messed up.. big time.

"Cordy—the _real _Cordy—kept one in her desk drawer." Lorne explains, reaching in and extracting it from the desk drawer.

"Probably a knock-off. It's not some trinket you'd throw in a desk drawer—" Skip scoffs, denying the obvious.

"She thought it was a back scratcher." Lorne shrugs, closing the drawer and handing it to Willow.

"Get started." Angel tells her and Willow, Fred, and Wesley start to get ready for the rituals.

"Wait, wait. Uh, did I say 'Bu'shundi' ? I meant 'Ru'shundi '. It's—it—whole different— Crap." the demon groans outwardly. It better work fast, they're coming.

xxxxxxx

"The Powers have sent me to give you a message." Darla tells her son and Conner shakes his head. No. This is isn't happening.

"You can't be my mother." he denies. She's dead.

"I have her memories, her feelings. Isn't that what makes a person who they are?" Darla wonders and Dawn whimpers.

"Let me go, please... " Dawn whispers and Conner closes his eyes.

"I know that sound, the look in her eyes, the smell of fear." Darla says as she kneels beside Dawn. "I've nurtured it a thousand times in all the people that I've murdered."

"My mother's dead." Conner grinds out as Darla stands up and stares at him.

"And I'll always be a part of you. You shared your soul with me once when you were growing inside of me when I'd lost my own. You brought light to my shadow, filled my heart with joy and love. I'd never felt so close to any living thing as I did to my beautiful boy." she says softly, her eyes sparkling with love.

"Why'd you leave me then? Did you hate me that much?" Conner scoffs, tears welling in his eyes despite his best efforts to keep them at bay.

"Baby, no. I wanted to be with you more than anything." Darla tells him.

"You killed yourself. I wasn't even born yet." Conner says miserably. "And you—"

"—did what I had to. My life for yours. I did so many terrible things, Connor, so much destruction, so much pain. You were the one good thing I ever did. The only good thing. I'd die every day for the rest of eternity for you. And this...is how you repay me?" Darla questions hardly, gesturing toward a mesmerized Dawn with a look of undeterred disappointment.

"You don't understand. We need her for our baby to keep it safe." Conner cries and Darla looks at him with disbelief.

"By anointing it in the blood of an innocent? You really think that safety can be plucked from the arms of an evil deed?" she questions and he nods.

"Good, evil. They're just words." he tells her and she shakes her head.

"Don't let this happen, Connor. Don't let my death mean nothing."

xxxxxxx

"The spell ready, Will?" Buffy asks as Wesley and the others get everything together in the lobby.

"Yep. Got it all down pact." Willow replies confidently, holding up her jar of herbs.

"Great. I'll see you-" Buffy stops mid-sentence as Angel enters the room. Willow gives Buffy a small wave before slipping out of Angel's office to go perform the spell with Fred and Wesley in the lobby.

"Buffy?" Angel calls out and Buffy takes a deep breath, attempting to calm her heart rate down and prepare herself for what she knows is coming.

"Angel." she replies softly.

"Can I talk to you really quick." he wonders, stepping in front of her to prevent her from leaving. He needs to talk to her, despite everything thats going on he needs to talk to her.

"I don't think now is the best time…" she replies nervously, taking a deep breath and looking away. While he's left reeling at her reaction Buffy tries to take his speechlessness as an oppurtunity walk away because she can't do this right now, she doesnt want to do this. But he catches her arm before she can get past him.

"Just please." he begs, his brown eyes filled with apprehension as he takes her hands in his. Buffy sighs. This is it. She looks down at her hand in his and takes a deep breath.

xxxxxxx

"They hate us... because we're special." Conner says to his mother, his eyes closed as images flash behind his them. Dawn's face. Angel. Buffy. Gunn. Fred. Faith. Xander. Willow. Lorne.

"I don't hate you." Dawn declares firmly. He has to know. She wishes she hated him but she can't. She just can't.

"They're scared because of what you've done not because of what you are." Darla tries to explain. If she can just sway him in the right direction everything will be alright.

"They wanted to kill me when I was still inside of you." Conner retorts and Darla moves to stand in front of him.

"But that changed when they saw you, held you in their arms, felt the warmth of your skin, the goodness in your heart." she coos, smiling up at him.

"And it will happen again when they hold my child. It's the only way." he replies. it's the only way they'll see.

"You have a choice, Connor. That is something more precious then you'll ever know." she tells him.

"What choice? They're hunting us like animals!" Conner screams, pointing out through the window toward the night sky.

"Because you're acting like one. As a vampire I killed without mercy or remorse because I didn't have a soul. What's your excuse?" Darla counters, giving it all she's got. So her son will see the light. So he'll do what's right.

"You think I wanna do this?" he chokes up and squeezes his eyes shut. "I love her."

"Then don't do this." Darla pleads.

"I have to." he replies, his eyes welling with tears.

"Why? Because _she _told you?" Darla yells, pointing toward Cordelia in the other room. "There are things happening, Connor, things that I can't— It has to be your choice. You can stop this."

"Her blood for our baby's. It's fair, isn't it?" Conner asks searchingly. It is fair, isn't it?

"Please, Conner don't do this." Dawn begs her eyes meeting his. He cant take it.

"Shut up!" he shouts at her and Darla shakes her head sadly at him.

"This isn't you, Connor." his mother says softly and he laughs bitterly.

"You've been gone a long time, Mom. How would you know?" he replies, his words sharp and biting.

"Because we shared a soul. I feel the pain, the anger, the hurt, like it were my own. But most of all, I feel the good in you and no matter how much you're beaten or twisted or lied to, it's still there in your heart. I know it, and deep down, you know it, too." Darla tells him, standing in front of him and staring into his eyes. He sniffles and looks past his mother to Dawn, tied up in the corner. He doesn't know what to do.

xxxxxxx

"What do you think they'll do?" Gunn questions as him, Faith, Xander, and Fred watch Buffy and Angel gather their things in calculated silence.

"Buffy? She'll do what she has to, like she always does." Xander sighs, memories of Angelus and Anya swimming in front of him. Guilt, fear and remorse swirling in his gut. This can go either way and that's the scary truth.

"And Angel? He's the same way." Gunn concludes. He's worked with Angel long enough to know he always does what he has to, even if he has to hurt himself to do it. Buffy was the perfect example.

"Will it make a difference? We really are just pieces being moved around a board." Fred questions, her voice laden with uncertainty.

"Then we'll kick it over and start a new game. Look, monochrome can yap all he wants about no-name's cosmic plan, but here's a little something I picked up rubbing mojos these past couple of years. The final score can't be rigged. I don't care how many players you grease, that last shot always comes up a question mark. But here's the thing—you never know when you're taking it. It could be when you're duking it out with the Legion of Doom, or just crossing the street deciding where to have brunch. So you just treat it all like it was up to you—the world in the balance—'cause you never know when it is." Gunn informs them and Faith's features touch with amusement.

"You been practicing that?" the slayer asks and he smiles at her.

"Little bit." he chuckles as she leans her head on his shoulder. They see Lorne, Wes, and Willow come out from the office and smile weakly.

"Hug your neighbor, kiddies, we got it." Lorne informs them.

"You're all puppets." Skip scoffs and Wesley turns to the demon casually.

"Shut up." he says before facing the others.

"Where is she?" Xander asks and Lorne looks down at his map.

"Well, according to the scorch marks, downtown, meat packing district." he says pointing to a specific area on the map.

"Good work." Angel compliments, taking the map out of Lorne's hands.

"Lets load up." Gunn says, slapping his hands together.

"No, you're not coming, any of you. Whatever's taken over Cordelia, it's still her inside. She's still our friend. If Willow's spell doesn't work… I won't let you carry that. I can't let you carry that." Buffy takes a deep breath and looks to Angel, who promptly shifts his gaze away from her.

"Anybody got a hanky?" Skip mocks and Lorne frowns at the duo. He doesn't have his mojo back but even he can tell that you could cut the tension between the two lovebirds with a knife and he doesn't seem to be the only one who's noticed. Buffy exchanges words with Xander before her and Angel head out.

"They're really gonna do it." Fred says, her eyes wide with fear.

"Only if they have to." Xander says, doing his best to stay strong and have faith in Willow and Buffy. Its what he has to do.

xxxxxxx

Conner kneels down beside Dawn and desperately starts to rip off the ropes binding her. Dawn cries with relief and Conner kisses her head.

"Shhhhh. Shhh. It's okay." he tells her and she hugs him once the ropes are undone.

"You're all right now. Everything's going to be all right." Darla promises, smiling as Conner takes Dawn's hand.

"What are you doing?" Cordelia suddenly demands and Conner freezes before turning and standing upright.

"Nothing. I, uh—"

"It's time. Take her in the other room." Cordelia says pointing toward the door.

"Listen to your heart." Darla whispers and Conner takes a deep breath. He has to focus so he can know whats right.

"She didn't do anything. We should let her go." he suggests trying to stay strong. For Dawn. For himself. For his mother.

"No we shouldn't. We need her, Connor. Our baby—" Cordelia starts to stay but Conner interrupts.

"Shouldn't be anointed with innocent blood." he insists and she scowls.

"Anointed? Who's been filling your head with big, confusing words." Cordelia asks angrily and Conner turns away, pacing back and forth.

"Just been thinking about it." he shrugs.

"Or, maybe... a little birdie's been pecking at you behind my back." she accuses, looking around the room for an clues.

"She'll lie to you." Darla tells him, putting her hand on his arm.

"You know how much they love to use the magic, Connor. A spell for this, a spell for that." Cordelia barks and Conner takes a deep steadying breath.

"Close her out, baby." Darla encourages as Dawn lays a comforting arm on his back.

"Whatever you're hearing, whatever you think you're seeing—it's a trick." Cordy exclaims.

"Don't let her in." his mother says to him.

"It's Angel." Cordelia shakes her head. "Trying to turn you against me with a cheap vision of Darla."

"No." Dawn says in unison with Darla.

"You can see her?" Conner questions and Cordelia nods vigorously. She doesn't but she knows. She can feel her there with them, trying to sway Conner back. She wont let that happen.

"I see the lies." Cordelia grinds out, her eyes narrowing.

"Connor, listen to me." Darla pleads.

"It's not her." Cordelia counters, moving closer and closer to shut Darla out.

"You have to let her go." Darla tells him desperately.

"It's your father. This is how much he hates you." Cordelia says bitterly and Darla shakes her head in refusal.

"Don't let her do this, Conner." Darla pleads.

"Are you going to let them do this to us? Are you going to let them kill our baby?" Cordelia accuses and Conner grabs his head and cries out.

"I love you." Dawn and Darla say together. "I love you, please don't do this."

Conner's eyes widen and he looks between his mother and Dawn in wonder. Its real.

But before he can grab Dawn and run, Cordelia's slamming him into the ground and everything goes black. The last thing he hears is Dawn's piercing scream.

xxxxxxx

Faith, Fred, Xander, Gunn and Lorne can hear Willow chanting from the other room when the building begins to shake. Wes peeks his head out from inside the office he's in with Willow when debris starts to fall. Fred loses her balance and falls to the floor.

"Fred!" Wesley shouts, just as the others fall after her. He tries to crawl over to her as the walls around them keep shifting but has a thought and changes his direction.

"What's happening?" Faith screams over the falling ruble. Chunks of cement from the infrastructure break the red sand surrounding Skip and he steps out of the red light with a wide smug smile.

"End of the world, cupcake— for all of you." he laughs, moving in on Fred. He picks her up off the floor and dangles her by the neck.

"What was that you were saying before? Something about infinite agony? Hmm?" he questions as Xander comes out and strikes the demon across the back.

"You mind? I'm trying to work here." he says, pushing Xander to the ground. Wesley comes bounding out of his office, shooting at skip with his silver pistol. When his bullets don't really do much he abandons the gun, tossing it to the floor.

"Do those things ever work? I mean, really." Skip taunts turning to look around the room. As Wes crawls he notices a gash in the back of Skip's head, and makes a diving roll for the gun again. He aims and fires a round into the hole, causing the demon to scream out.

"Well, that ain't right." he mumbles, falling to the floor in a heap.

"Willow? Are you almost finished with the spell?" Wesley calls out as he makes his way to Fred and gathers her in his arms. There's no reply. "Willow?"

xxxxxxx

Dawn gasps as the dagger embeds itself in her gut, she feels her blood running through her fingers and Cordelia bends down, dipping her hand into the pool collecting at Dawn's feet and pressing her palm on the bare skin of her belly.

"Girl's gotta do everything on her own." Cordelia mutter's before beginning to chant. "Vanu'esh. Katahn darh'im. Vajra'ha'esh. Vanu'esh. Katahn darh'im. Vajra'ha'esh. ...darh'im…"

Connor groans as he rolls over and finds a bleeding Dawn at his side.

"Oh, god Dawn." he says as he presses down on her wound. Cordelia screams in pain and scowls.

"We have to stop it." Dawn says between shallow breaths and Conner shakes his head furiously.

"We can't. There's nothing we can do." Conner tells her, his brows furrowing. This cant be happening. Dawn cant be dying. Not now. Not ever.

"We always have a choice, Conner." Dawn tells him, stroking his face with her fingers as Darla appears over her.

"You were a big help Dawn. And the Powers have sent me down to do one last thing." Darla breathes as she reaches down and places her hands over Dawn's wound. A bright light emits from Darla's fingertips and Conner watches in amazement as Dawn begins to heal.

xxxxxxx

Wesley and the others run into the back office to find Willow glowing with energy as she continues to chant.

"Does this always happen when she does this?" Faith questions dubiously. She doesn't remember Willow blacking out like that when she used to do magic.

"Pretty much." Xander replies and Faith shrugs. Whatever gets the job done.

xxxxxxx

"No, it's coming. It's coming. The beginning of a new world." Cordelia laughs and Buffy and Angel appear at the door.

"Or not." Angel says harshly.

Buffy runs to Dawn and Conner's side just in time to see Darla wink and fade out. She doesn't have time to ask questions she just directs the two teenagers toward the door.

"She lied to you, Connor." Angel tells his son and Conner nods. "To all of us. That's not Cordelia."

"I know, Dad." Conner replies sadly as he passes his father.

"At least not yet." Buffy says as she appears beside them. "Come on, Willow."

Cordelia screams in agony and her facial features contort in confusion.

"What's going on?" she demands as her contractions stop. A dim yellow light glows around her as she splits and her body is propelled backward.

"Thank you, Wills." Buffy says to no one in particular as she charges forward with Angel. A green light shines and blinds them all. Angel and Buffy shield their eyes until the light dies down and they both stare, their gazes unwavering.

"Oh, my God." Angel's jaw drops. "You're beautiful."

"Angel." a woman say sweetly, smiling widely as she stands before them.


	18. Chapter 17

A/N: We did it. 100 reviews! I'm so excited and happy and grateful. Thank you to everyone reading. All your reviews really make my day. Here's chapter 17, its shorter than usual and I know its been a little while since I updated but I promise to update very soon in compensation. Any typos are mine. Enjoy.

* * *

**Carpe Noctum**

_Chapter 17_

Buffy watches in horror as the monster from her slayer dream appears in front of her. It looks around and says nothing, merely observing the things around it.

"Dawn, Conner. Get back." she commands as she slides their bodies behind her. They hear a moan and then they see Cordelia sitting up and holding her head.

"Ugh. What the hell is with these demon types? I feel like crap." Cordelia whines as she rolls over and jumps to her feet.

"Cordelia!" Buffy shouts, glad she has good news for Xander. Willow's separation spell worked just in time but before she can get too happy the thing begins to speak. Cordelia looks over at the creature and shrieks running to Buffy's side in blind fear.

"Oh, it's all so—" the creature wonders.

"Unworthy?" Angel interrupts, looking admiringly toward the woman. Buffy's mouth hangs open. What the hell is he doing? The thing walks over and picks up a tarp as it surveys the room.

"Wonderful." it says dreamily, before turning to Cordelia. "Cordelia, thank you for protecting me and nourishing me. Your spirit has been my shelter."

"Why does everything have to happen to me?" Cordelia whines and Dawn holds onto Conner for dear life.

"I can feel all of it: the cold floor, the air, this skin. Everything is perfect." the thing says ecstatically.

"No, it's not. I came here to kill you. I should be punished." Angel sighs, handing the woman his sword.

"Angel, I can feel your suffering, but now that suffering is going to end." the creatures says, as she takes his sword and raises it above her head.

"Angel! Are you out of your mind? Fight her!" Buffy screams but Angel hangs his head and waits. Buffy moves forward to strike, but by the time she crosses the room the creature is gone.

"Okay, what the hell was that?" Buffy shouts, placing her hand on her hips. That was just a big heap of weirdness.

xxxxxxx

Fred sighs as she stacks Wesley's books in a neat pile, over and over again while Xander and Lorne watch idly.

"We should've done this a long time ago. I don't know what I was thinking letting these books be all unorganized." Fred says, squinting at the books disappointedly.

"Well, one does tend to let the housekeeping slide during an Apocalyptolite." Xander jokes half heartedly, before sighing. Not even the comfort of a joke can lift his spirits.

"Hey, honey, all this to-ing and fro-ing is making me edgy...er." Lorne complains.

"What's that?" Fred wonders as she hears a buzzing sound filling the lobby.

"Oh, relax. It's just a buzz saw. Nothing to get worked up over. It's Gunn, Faith, and Wes down in the basement. They're dismembering that armor-plated demon, Skip." Willow says, gesturing toward the basement door.

"Oh, right. Well, there's been an awful lot of dismembering going on in that basement lately, if you ask me." Fred says disapprovingly.

"Well, it's been a busy month." Lorne points out.

"God, why'd it have to be her?" Fred demands and Xander nods miserably in agreement, while the others do their best to catch up.

"I think you skipped a groove, darlin'." Lorne tells her, his brows furrowing.

"Cordelia. Why couldn't the Beastmaster have chosen some horrible evil awful person to be its vessel?" Fred questions sadly, slamming one of the books down on the desk.

"Wouldn't have been much in the way of camouflage." Lorne reasons, shaking his head.

"They've been gone so long." Willow sighs, looking toward the door.

"Y-you shifted gender pronouns, sweetheart. Not that I'm judging—" Lorne trails off and Fred looks at him.

"Buffy and Angel. Do you think they found them?" she asks hopefully and Lorne tilts his head in confusion.

"Them being...?" Lorne prompts and Willow answers for her.

"Dawn, Connor and Cordy." she tells him and Lorne shrugs, not usre how to answer. There's no way to be a hundred percent sure.

"Well...uh.…" Lorne stutters and Fred starts to ramble again.

"Or maybe he got there too late, and she already had it?" she muses, her eyes wide. Willow meets her glance.

"Maybe." she breathes and Fred brushes a strand of her hair behind her ear nervously.

"And by _it_, you must mean—?" Xander questions, his eye brows furrowed. Is he the only one that's not catching onto this crazy?

"The baby. Or, hell spawn or whatever it is. Skip said the Beastmaster was using Cordelia to give birth to itself." Fred explains, biting her lip as the worse case scenarios play out in her mind on a loop. "What if Angel didn't get there in time to stop it? Or, worse, what if he did get there in time? Do you think he'd actually...you know?"

"Dismember mama?" Lorne chuckles nervously.

"Would Angel really kill Cordelia?" Xander wonders anxiously.

"To save the world?" Conner asks from the lobby as he fingers a knife laying around.

"Son of a bitch!" Fred shouts, grabbing a knife from off the counter and running out to the lobby, with Willow and Xander in tow.

"OK, not that I was expecting a transition, but still…" Lorne says as he follows the others.

"Drop it, junior." Xander says picking up a stray sword and pointing it at Conner.

"Fred, don't get too close." Willow warns before turning to Conner and scowling. "You heard the man. Drop the knife."

"Look we don't have time for this, something is wrong with… dad." Conner tells them, scratching the back of his neck and pointing toward the door.

"Uh, are you still evil-ish? 'Cause I'm confused." Willow says turning to Xander and Fred to see if they agree.

"Guys, it's OK. He's with me." Buffy says as her, Angel, Dawn and Cordelia saunter through the door just as Wes, Faith and Gunn enter the room.

"Cordelia!" Fred shouts running full speed ahead and wrapping Cordelia in a big bear hug. Xander doesn't say a word, just drops his sword and waits for Fred to pull away so he can hold Cordy himself.

"You're not pregnant!" Willow exclaims and Cordelia nods.

"Apparently not. But the thing I gave birth to-" Cordelia grimaces and Wesley interrupts her.

"Then you were too late? The thing was born?" Wes asks and Buffy nods in confirmation.

"I'm guessing it wasn't a chubby little cherub, huh?" Lorne asks, shaking his head anxiously.

"Not exactly." Angel hedges and Buffy rolls her eyes.

"But you killed it? It's dead, right?"

"I—I tried. I was going to. I just, uh—" Angel sits down and begins to cry and Buffy slaps her hand to her forehead.

"It escaped, then?"

"Disappeared. Didn't even say goodbye." Angel whimpers, shaking his head. Dawn furrows her brows in disbelief.

"Is that, like, baby evil?" Fred asks in confusion and Conner shakes his head.

"I imagine we're not talking about a baby." Wesley points out.

"World of no." Buffy tells them.

"OK, so what are we dealing with?" Gunn questions. There's a lot they can be dealign with and he just wants to know exactly what so he can whip out a can of ass whopping'.

"Eight legs, three heads, horns...?" Xander prompts, his hand enclosed around Cordelia's.

"Hey!" Lorne accuses and Xander shrugs, causing Cordelia to giggle.

"No, offense." he states, putting his free hand up in surrender.

"Two legs, one head, no horns." Dawn tells them easily as she breezes past them and to the couch. "But it did-"

"Lemme guess: green?" Xander questions and Lorne shoots him a withering look.

"No. Kind of... mocha. We need to find her." Angel insists, standing and smiling widely.

"Agreed." Wesley says as he, Faith, Dawn, Gunn, Xander, Buffy, Lorne, Conner, Willow, Fred and Cordelia head for the weapons cabinet.

"Hope this thing's easier to kill than the Beast." Faith says as she levels a machete on her finger tips.

"I'm gonna have to agree with you on that one." Buffy chuckles as Faith throws open the doors of their small arsenal.

"Kill? No. No killing." Angel tells them firmly and they all spin around toward him in shock.

"Since when?" Gunn questions and Angel only smiles.

"Since we've all been saved." he replies and the others exchange glances.

"Oh, well, that's, uh, crazy talk." Fred says and Buffy points toward Angel.

"Guys I don't know what's going on! He's been like this ever since that thing came out of Cordelia." Buffy cries and Wesley looks to Angel.

"You don't understand. We don't want to kill her." Angel declares, taking Wesley's ax away from him. "We just want to find her so we can worship her. That's all."

Everyone's mouths hang open as they stare at the souled up vampire in front of them.

"She's amazing. You'll go nuts." Angel says cheerfully.

"Yeah, that'll definitely help us relate better." Gunn agrees.

"When you meet her, you'll understand." Angel replies, continuing to smile.

"I don't know if its just me, but seeing dead boy smile this much is giving me the wiggins." Xander shivers for good effect and Willow nods in agreement.

"I have to agree its very un- Angel like." the witch says and Wes opens his mouth to defend Angel but eventually shrugs in agreement before turning to the vampire.

"Angel, whatever you're feeling right now, it's some form of enchantment." Wesley says carefully as he picks up a leather bound book and starts to search for an explanation.

"Yeah." Angel agrees wistfully. Wesley points down at a passage and turns to Angel.

"It's a spell. Think. Even before its birth, this thing controlled Cordelia, caused her to do unspeakable things. It's evil. Remember the Rain of Fire, permanent midnight, all the horrors done in its name—"

"Must be rectified." the woman says firmly and everyone turns to face her. Angel drops to his knees and Buffy, Dawn, Conner and Cordelia watch in horror as the others follow his lead.

"My God." Lorne says softly.

"People keep saying that." the woman smiles. "For so long, you've all been drowning in the fighting and the pain. I'd like to help...if you'll have me."

"No way-" Dawn starts to yell when she's cut off.

"Tell us what to do." Willow pleads and Buffy sighs. This is not how she expected everything to go.

"Cordelia, Dawn, Conner. We're going. Now." Buffy shouts, grabbing the book Wesley was looking through before taking off toward the Hyperion's doors.

"Should we go and catch them for you?" Xander offers, standing up with Gunn and Angel.

"I can do a locater spell." Willow suggests, but the woman shakes her head and smiles.

"No. It wont be a problem. They don't have anywhere to go."

The others nod in agreement with broad grins stretched across their faces.


	19. Chapter 18

A/N: I'm back everyone, with an extra long chapter this time. I hope you like it. Disclaimer's in the first chapter. Remember your reviews are very much appreciated so leave one? (;

* * *

**Carpe Noctum**

_Chapter 18_

The group is arranged in a loose circle as they all stare at the woman, smiling at them.

"Eternal bliss. It suits her." Lorne says lovingly and Fred sighs happily.

"Cordelia must be so proud...to be the one who brought you here. What an honor." she says dreamily.

"She didn't look very proud when she was scampering out of here with Buffy." Willow counters, a frown coloring her features.

"No. I'm the one who's honored...by Cordelia, and by all of you. I can't tell you how good it is to be back." the woman tells them happily.

"Back? Then you've been here before?" Wesley wonders curiously and the others gather around the woman tighter as she speaks.

"Yes. In the beginning, before the time of man, great beings walked the earth. Untold power emanated from all quarters—the seeds of what would come to be known as good and evil. But the shadows stretched and became darkness, and the malevolent among us grew stronger. The earth became a demon realm. Those of us who had the will to resist left this place, but we remained ever-watchful." she narrates for them and they all stay enraptured.

"You're a power that... was?" Gunn questions.

"But then something new emerged from deep inside the earth—neither demon, nor God." the woman continues and Wes's eye light with understanding.

"Man." Wesley acknowledges and the woman nods.

"And it seemed, for a time, that through this new race, a balance might be restored."

"Guess we really let you down." Fred says dejectedly but the woman shakes her head in disagreement.

"But you didn't. It was we who failed you. We became little more than observers. I could no longer bear to just watch all the suffering. I had to find a way back. But, first I needed a miracle. And so I arranged one. Through you, Angel, through Darla. That is where my parentage began. Two vampires—creatures one human corrupted by darkness. And you with a soul—a miracle already." the woman coos.

"But how?" Angel wonders, gazing intently upon their leader.

"Through Lorne." she answers happily, pointing toward the friendly demon.

"Huh?" Lorne grunts in surprise and the woman strokes his head.

"The day Lorne sent Angel and human Darla into the trials to earn a new chance at life." the woman explains.

"I failed." Angel tells her.

"No, you earned that life. All these events unfolded that I might reenter this physical plain. I know there's been chaos." the woman says nodding.

"All the events we've witnesses these past months, all the madness, it was birth pains." Wesley says in understanding.

"But the storm has passed." she assures them and they all smile.

"And here comes the sun." Willow says admiringly.

"And Cordelia—will her Buffy, Dawn and Conner come back and realize what you truly are?" Angel asks hopefully and the woman hesitates before continuing.

"If we take hold of the world, strip away the thorns, win the battle—then, yes, I think they will." she concludes and Angel nods acceptingly. He's willing to work.

"How do we do that?" Xander questions eagerly and the woman nods.

"One evil at a time. Much damage has been done in my name. There are demons, forces of hate, all over this city." she tells them.

"We're going to destroy them." Fred says excitedly and the woman nods.

"We're going to change the world."

"Finally." Angel sighs in relief, smiling endlessly.

xxxxxxx

Cordelia and Dawn put their hands on their knees as Conner and Buffy survey their surroundings from the inside of the alley they ducked in a few minutes before.

"This way." Buffy starts to motion but Cordelia and Dawn call out in protest.

"Buffy, Conner. I need to stop for a while." Dawn huffs and Conner kneels down by her side.

"Dawn and I aren't superfreakbeings like the two of you. We need to breath!" Cordelia shouts with all the air she has left in her lungs as she tries to catch her breath.

"Well I'm just trying to make sure we don't get chased down by maggot face." Buffy replies with a pout before sighing and taking a seat across from Cordy, Conner and Dawn. "I'm sorry guys."

"Yeah well I'm just saying. We already have some corpse looking thing that _I _gave birth to, coming to kill us, we don't need our lungs to fall out on top of it." Cordelia tells her, with les venom and Buffy nods.

"Okay so you need rest. Duly noted, the problem is we need somewhere to stay. With Angel and the rest of the gang all mojoed up with some enchantment thing we've got no place to go." Buffy complains sourly.

"I know! Now Xander and the rest of them are under that spell that thing must have casted." Cordelia screeches as she scowls in anger. She just got back to being herself, now she has to deal with getting everyone else back. Including Xander.

"Okay before we get into specifics. We're gonna need somewhere to stay." Dawn suggests and Buffy smiles.

"I know just the place."

xxxxxxx

Two vampires talk while bowling with a severed human head. The one vampire pleads with the other.

"I'm telling you, something big is coming, and when it gets here, we're gonna be in prime position for—"

"An ass whoppin'?" Faith questions as the two vampires look up with wide eyes. Angel and the rest of the gang flank Faith's side just as she moves in to attack.

Fred stays by the woman's side as they walk past the fighting going on around them.

"Sit with me." the woman suggests and Fred looks around uneasily.

"Do you think we should?" she asks humbly and the woman gestures nonchalantly around them.

"I have nothing to fear."

"Okay." Fred agrees as they sit next to one another on the bench.

"Now what're we going to call me?" she questions and Fred blanches in surprise.

"You don't have a name!" she exclaims in shock and the woman shakes her head. "You should have a name." Fred insists and the woman nods in agreement.

"I don't know. I can't imagine one word, you know, summing you up. I mean, you're a superior being. Shouldn't you— don't you want to choose it yourself?" Fred wonders but the woman shakes her head.

"No one born to this earth can choose their own name. They are named by those who love them. There are some rules even I must follow." she insists and Fred nods in complete entrapment. Within seconds a vampire is on top of the woman snarling and Angel pulls it off and it bolts out of the building.

"I'm so sorry. It's all my fault." Fred cries, her eyes welling with tears at what she's done.

"I'll be fine. You tried to caution me. I should have listened." the woman insists and Angel chases the vampire outside.

"Hey! You hurt her, you scum!" he screams aiming his stake at the ready. Angel starts to close in when the vampire jumps on a man and scratches him. Angel pulls the vampire off and stakes him in the heart, his body turning to ash. Gunn, Wesley, Willow, Fred, Faith, Xander and the woman gather outside as one of the patrons points toward Angel.

"Over there!"

"It's all right. It's over. You're safe now." Angel informs the customers and as soon as they set eyes on the woman they fall to their knees.

"Everyone, please, stand up. If you wish to honor me, honor each other. We are all one." the woman says pleasantly and the patrons climb to their feet.

"You're hurt." a man says sadly and the woman smiles.

"I'll be alright. Everything will be all right." she assures them all.

"All my life, so empty. That's over now, isn't it?" a girl asks and the woman nods.

"Yes, Margaret, it's over. I know you. I know you all. I've come here for you to bring you the gift of peace. You will be freed from the pains you've suffered. The world will change forever, and you will know the power of my love. The chaos will fade, and harmony will reign." the woman announces.

"Monster. It has to die!" a man screams, the one who was scratched by the vampire that attacked him. The young man lunges at the woman but Angel intercepts his attack and slams him down, beating him while in vamp mode.

"Angel, that's enough." the woman touches Angel's shoulder and his bumpies fade.

"Don't you see it? No. Don't you touch me!" the young man screams as the woman reaches her hand out.

"Poor thing." she sighs, laying her hand on his face. She turns. "Wesley." she calls out and he nods.

"I'll call an ambulance." he says, before turning and leaving to find a phone.

"All of you, so loving, so strong. How can I ask you to understand that a man like this, so full of fear, anger, so alone—he will always be alone, but _we _have found each other." she smiles and the crowd applauds her.

xxxxxxx

"Dad's loft? Really Buffy?" Dawn asks incredulously as Buffy propels the side of the building and carefully kicks in the window.

"What? He's off in Spain or whatever and I know for a fact this place is still his and stocked up with food. Come on, he's never around we can free load this one time." Buffy shrugs before climbing through the window and making her way downstairs to let the others in.

"Woah, how come you didn't tell anyone your dad is like rich?" Cordelia wonders as her eyes scour the well furnished apartment. Conner nods appreciatively before padding over to the fridge and throwing it open, grabbing the first thing he sees and scarfing it down. The three girls looks over at him with disgusted expressions and he throws his hands up in surrender.

"What?" he asks, through a stuffed mouth and Buffy and Cordelia make gag noises before going to sit on the couch.

"Look so does slayer gal have any ideas on how were gonna get out of this now that Angel and pretty much all our friends are crazy happy shiny people?" Cordelia questions and Buffy bites her lip. She's usually doing the fighting not the figuring.

"I'm not sure. I mean our only clue right now is this book. That and the fact that for some reason we're all immune to this spell that this thing is casting over everyone." Buffy tells them, dropping the book Wes was showing them onto the coffee table with an audible thump.

"Well what do we have in common?" Conner says, taking a seat next to Dawn. She leans into him and Buffy raises a brow in surprise while Dawn just blushes furiously.

"Well, we were all there when that thing ascended." Dawn points out but Conner shakes his head.

"Yeah, but so was dad and he's all worshiping the thing we're supposed to be killing." he sighs, shoving a handful of crackers in his mouth. What? It seems like he hasn't eaten in days. Actually he hasn't eaten in days!

"Hm, well let's retrace our steps here. Angel and I busted in and we split up. He went after faux Cordy and I went over to you guys…" Buffy trails off remembering the quick blink of an eye image she saw of Darla. "Which reminds me, did either of you happen to possibly see…" she pauses. "While we were there did you see, because-"

"Darla." they reply in unison, interrupting and Buffy looks to them, her eyes demanding answers.

"What was she doing there?" Buffy asks suspiciously, her eyes narrowing despite themselves but to Buffy's surprise, Dawn's eyes light up.

"She was talking me out of becoming bad." Conner tells her and Dawn grabs his hand for support.

"She uh, also healed me." Dawn says sheepishly, ducking her head down as she remembered Darla's words.

"Healed you?" Cordelia asks questioningly, also put off by the Darla helping bit of information Dawn was throwing at them. Because it was Darla, hello epitome of evil. The only time she ever did something good was when she gave up her own life for Conner… which might be the reason behind her visit.

"Yeah, I was dying and she healed me." Dawn shrugs, squeezing Conner's hand tightly in hers.

"You were dying?" Buffy shrieks, her eyes widening in shock. She wasn't dying when she got there! What if Darla hadn't healed her? She would have been too late.

"Yeah faux Cordy needed the blood of a vir-" Dawn's eyes go wide and she turns red before clearing her throat and continuing. Conner shoots her a small knowing smirk. "…of an innocent for the baby to come. So she killed me, or at least tried to."

"Huh. Wow. Well next time I see her I'll thank her, as long as she's not trying to kill me." Buffy quips and Cordelia clears her throat.

"Moving on…" the brunette prompts and Buffy nods, intent on focusing on the matter at hand.

"Okay so it needed your blood…" Cordy points out trying to aid in the putting together of the puzzle.

"Blood!" Dawn exclaims suddenly and the others wait impatiently for an explanation. But before Dawn can ever open her mouth to elaborate Buffy hears Spike's words echo in her head.

Cause its always got to be blood. Its what keeps you going. Makes you warm. Makes you hard. Makes you other than dead.

Of course it was blood!

"Our blood." Buffy says but Conner and Cordelia still don't follow. Buffy puts her hands out to them. "Just hear me out. You two had this thing. You're blood was used to help bring this thing forth. You were its vessel Cordelia and Conner was the one who - erm planted the seed." Buffy trails off uncomfortably as Cordelia and Dawn glare at her. Buffy shakes it off. "Anyway, when this thing offered Dawn up, it used her blood to bring it forth too! Get it?"

"But how does that connect you to all this? Why are you immune?" Conner asks, his brows furrowed.

"It cant be a slayer thing, because Faith fell to her knees even faster than Angel did." Cordelia snarks and Buffy shakes her head.

"Its not a slayer thing. It's a Summers thing." Buffy tells them. "You both already know that Dawn is the key. But the monks that turned her human used _my _blood. Which means we sharea common bond: my blood, our blood."

"Oh, okay. I see so the key is in the blood." Conner realizes, nodding his head before catching Dawn's eye. "No pun intended."

"Look, I don't know how we're gonna fight this thing but if we can break the enchantment, then at least we'll have some help in finding a way to beat this thing."

"Alright. We should probably come up with a way to infiltrate the hotel. I'm sure they're guarding it now that they know we're a threat." Buffy muses as Cordelia gets up and wanders into the bathroom. Her and Conner are in the midst of battle strategies when Cordelia's voice sounds.

"Yes, we should totally do that, whatever you two are planning.. but not before we go out and shop for some toiletries. I mean come on Buffy.. Irish springs?" Cordelia asks sarcastically holding up a bottle of men's body wash. Conner gets up, grabs it and pulls the top off to smell it while Buffy shakes her head. You can never get a vacation without imminent doom and some kind of evil apocalypse looming. Oh well, guess they're off to Wal-Mart.

xxxxxxx

Wesley, Gunn and Xander smile up at the woman as they polish the weapons in their lap.

"What about... Helen?" Gunn proposes wistfully, doing his best to come up with the best name possible.

"Helen." Xander says softly, testing it out.

"It's got a ring." Gunn admits and Wes shakes his head.

"Yes, it does. However, something along the lines of... Dianthia or Iphigenia." he suggests dutifully. He wants to be the one to come up with the perfect name for her.

"Those are some long lines." Gunn says as Xander looks up toward the woman.

"How about Charisma?" Xander offers goofily.

"Or Aristophila, which means—" Wesley offers and the woman provides the definition.

"'Supreme lover of mankind.'" the woman smiles at Wesley for his suggestion. "That's lovely."

"Well, Helen was my grandma's name." Gunn defends and the woman nods.

"Helen is beautiful as well as Charisma." she says gratefully and Wesley continues on.

"All right. What about—"

"Clorox." Fred interrupts. The others look up to see Fred holding the woman's shirt in her hands.

"'Clorox, she bleaches away the hate.'" Gunn tests it out but Xander and Wesley grimace.

"Probably best we avoid brand names." Wesley advises and the two men nod agreeing with one another. Only the best for her.

"Mm-hmm."

"No, I—I meant the shirt. I know I can get this stain out." Fred says defiantly, glaring down at the shirt in her hands with determined eyes.

"It's not important, Fred." the woman assures her but Fred looks to her intensely.

"No, it is. I can make it good as new again." Fred promises, clenching the fabric in her fingers.

"There's really no need. It's just a shirt." the woman says soothingly but Fred prattles on.

"But it's yours. And it was on you, on your holy bodiness. And it's my fault you were attacked." she says shamefully but the woman stands, holding a towel to her injured arm.

"Nonsense. There is no fault. It was a new and vivid experience. To be able to bleed, feel things, anything—even pain—is a gift. You people take your senses for granted." the woman tells them and Fred suddenly perks up.

"Club soda." she shouts, running from the room to go and scrub the blood from the woman's shirt.

"May as well let her do her thing." Gunn shrugs, looking up toward the woman affectionately.

"Yes, Fred can be quite single-minded when she is focused on a problem." Wes says lovingly as he stares after Fred.

"Yeah. She's not the only one." Gunn agrees watching as Faith passes by with Willow.

"You love them very much—both of you. Don't you see? You both have the same love and yet there is a difference now. That should bring you closer together, not drive you apart." the woman tells them and Gunn and Wes exchange a glance. They haven't exactly been on the best terms since Fred chose Wes over Gunn, but since Faith and since the woman has come into the picture all that resentment seemed… unimportant.

"I'm sorry you were hurt." Willow apologizes as she comes in, baring bandages in her arms.

"Oh. Ah." the woman says as she lifts the towel and finds her wound completely healed.

"But there was so much blood." Xander says disbelievingly as they look at her arm in awe and shock.

"I heal quickly. It must be a benefit of being a former power, I guess." she smiles, shrugging it off and placing the towel down.

"What was wrong with that man? Why did he want to hurt you?" Willow asks, simply unable to ignore the nagging feeling that keeps tugging inside her chest.

"I'm not sure. Some people can't accept change. It scares them, and that fear becomes hatred, and they take that hatred out on others... or sometimes on themselves." the woman says leaving Xander, Gunn, Wesley and Willow to their own devices as she walks outside to the garden to find Angel leaning against the railing.

"That fragrance... it's lovely. What is it?" the woman wonders and Angel nods toward one of the bushes distractedly.

"Must be the jasmine." he informs her absently, continuing to look out into the night.

"Oh, night blooming. So beautiful, so lonely...like you." she concludes and Angel looks up at her then away with shame.

"Is something wrong, Angel." the woman asks in concern. Angel simply shakes his head, but she knows better then to believe him.

"You can tell me anything." she assures to him and he sighs miserably.

"Buffy used to say that to me. It's just—having you here, I finally know my purpose. For you—to help bring you here."

"That and so much more." she smiles, leaning on the railing beside him.

"I shamed you." he says broodingly, veering off topic and causing the woman to frown.

"No." she tells him but he shakes his head, refusing her answer.

"I did. I almost killed that man. I think I would have if—" Angel's voice cracks and she cuts him off.

"Angel, you were only trying to protect me. There can be no shame in that." she says with a smile and he looks up, fear set in his eyes.

"I don't want to fail you again." he says weakly.

"Then don't." she counters but he shakes his head.

"It's not that simple." he replies and she wonders why not. "'Cause...what I'm feeling."

"You must let go of your anger towards that poor soul." she tells him.

"No, not anger...happiness. I'm so happy that you're here." he says sadly.

"And that's a problem?" she asks, bewildered by the notion.

"For me, yes." Angel sighs. "I don't deserve—I shouldn't be so happy. I've done things. I betrayed everyone, hurt people… not to mention the fact if I get _too _happy, if I allow myself to feel what I'm feeling, Angelus might—"

"I know your troubles. But that is not an issue anymore. Angel, you deserve all the happiness I can bring you. Evil _will _be banished by the deeds we will do. And all that will be left is the beauty." she promises and he looks to her.

"Eradicate all evil." Angel sighs, doubt etched into his angelic features.

"Yes." she replies with conviction but he turns his head away in disbelief.

"Is that even possible? We've been fighting for so long." he sighs and she nods.

"I know. I've seen it all. It's why I've come back. You are my general. I have faith in you." she says, lifting his chin so she can see him.

"You... have faith in me?" he asks, his words almost getting stuck in his throat. She believes in him.

"I have faith in all my warriors, each and every one of you. You are all up to the task." she smiles at him and strokes his cheek gently. "You're not alone anymore. I will be with you everywhere you go. I'll be at your side, giving you strength. With my help, all things are possible. There will be no doubt, no worry, no fear, for you will know you cannot be beaten."

xxxxxxx

Buffy and Conner quietly scan the courtyard of the hotel as they amble forward, intent on eavesdropping on the others as they coo over their new leader. Buffy squints accusingly as she watches Angel speak with the thing. Her anger overflows when she sees it touch him. She pushes off from the bushes she and Conner are squatting in and starts to back away.

"Come on, Con. There isn't much to see here." she says hardly, gesturing for him to follow her out as she ignores the tugging feeling in her abdomen as her and Angel's last words flow freely through her mind.

_Buffy sighs as she lets Angel pull her into the back office and position her in front of him as he looks deep into her eyes._

_"Buffy, what did Skip mean about sleeping with the enemy? You didn't say you were with anyone when we met up… after you came back." Angel whispers and Buffy shakes her head._

_"Yeah well, you didn't exactly tell me about Darla or the fact that you had a son. So I think we're even." Buffy retorts and Angel stares her down._

_"Who were you sleeping with?" And with that she gets angry. He's aloud to have a life and she isn't? What was that about? Given, Spike was a mistake but why should he need to know about it?_

_"I don't know how its any of your business." Buffy grinds out. "I haven't been your business for a long time, Angel. So maybe you should just leave it alone. Okay?"_

_"No Buffy. I_ can't _leave it alone. Who was Skip talking about?" he demands harshly. Buffy sighs and looks away, shame coloring her features. She doesn't want to tell him, but didn't she tell herself earlier that she would? It's the only reason she's snapping at him like this. Because she's mortified and ashamed and…_

_"I was gonna tell you before, right after I talked to Wes about it…" she starts to tell him and he scowls at her._

_"Wesley knows and_ I _don't?" Angel demands, his features portraying his anger. A rare occurence when it comes to Buffy. He just doesn't understand how she could be giving him a hard time. He loves her. Why can she all of the sudden be open with Wesley but not with _him_?_

_"Only because Fred was talking about Cordy and Conner getting all… and Wes said he could relate and Fred was like I would never… and I opened my big mouth and told her you never know loneliness like that until it happens to you…" Buffy trails off tears welling as she thinks of the things she let Spike do to her. Angel reaches out to touch her and she flinches under his touch. His eyes widen and she meets her hazel eyes with his and whispers his name. "It was Spike."_

_Angel snarls and is out of the room before she can even draw a breath to explain herself. Tears fall down her face and she angrily swipes at them before charging into the lobby to get ready to fight, shoving away her emotions, like always to do what she has to and save Dawn._

"You okay, Buffy?" Conner asks and Buffy turns to him in confusion as she snapsout of her reverie.

"Huh?" she says and he points to her.

"You were just like zoning out or something." he tells her and she smiles sheepishly.

"Sorry. I do that, sometimes." she shrugs and he does too. An awkward silence falls over them and they're a few feet away from the apartment when Buffy stops Conner in his tracks. He quirks an eye brow in response but stays quiet waiting for Buffy to speak. After awhile she finally finds the words.

"So you and Dawn?" she asks and she almost slaps herself for the way she's going about this.

"Yep." Conner says easily, knowing the slayer is testing him and Buffy puts her hands on her hips.

"Look, just don't hurt her okay?" Buffy pleads and Conner sees the vulnerability in her expression. He knows his Dad is one of the reasons she's doing this. Dawn's told him the stories and he knows Buffy's been hurt so its only reasonable she would want to save Dawn that pain. She always trying to save everyone else, Conner wonders when she's going to save herself.

"I wont." he guarantees, hoping to leave her with one less thing to worry about and Buffy nods, appeased as they start toward the loft again.

"And if you do, I'll just beat you to a pulp." she says easily, stepping through the front door and into the apartment. Conner shakes his head in amusement and follows her inside.


	20. Chapter 19

A/N: Chapter 19 is here and pretty much the longest one yet. As usual any typos are my own. I hope you like it and please don't forget to drop me a line and tell me what you think in a review! Enjoy.

* * *

**Carpe Noctum**

_Chapter 19_

Gunn, Xander, Angel, Faith, Willow, and Wes watch happily as the newscaster delivers news of the city's rapidly receding crime level on the

the television.

"_After several weeks of sky-rocketing homicide rates, finally this week a dramatic decrease in southland murders. The Sheriff's Department spokesman attributes the drop to their new "Tough on Crime" policy instituted last month_—"

"Hm. A little 'Credit for the Divinity Behind the Scenes' policy wouldn't suck." Angel jokes as he shuts off the TV and smiles up at the woman eagerly, like a child hoping to hear his mother tell him how proud she is.

"It's not important who gets the credit. What matters is that we're winning." the woman reassures them.

"If we keep going at this rate—" Wesley starts to say excitedly.

"L.A.'s gonna be one big, fat no-demon zone. Hello, Garden City." Gunn finishes, putting his hand on Faiths knee, both of them sharing a smile.

"You never doubted us. Not for a second." Faith notes knowingly.

"There's no room for doubt, Faith. Only love." the woman replies, touching Faith's arm comfortingly as Lorne saunters into the room.

"Hey, we made the news. Dramatic decrease in southland murders this week." Faith tells Lorne enthusiastically.

"Oh, hey, so much for that nagging apocalypse." the pacifying demon quips. He turns to the woman a bit nervous. "Hey, uh, speaking of dramatic, I've got a smidge of surprise for you...upstairs."

"Surprises. They're one of my favorite things about being human." the woman says giddily and Lorne giggles as they make their way upstairs with Faith.

"Isn't she—"

"Yeah." Xander cuts Angel off with a satisfied smile.

"A miracle." Gunn decides and the others nod. Fred walks in, her hands red and raw from her incessant scrubbing of the woman's bloody shirt.

"Well, I tried. What do you think?" she asks the guys, holding up the shirt in front of her.

"It looks brand new." Wesley compliments approvingly.

"It is. I—I bought a new one." Fred cries, sitting down beside Angel and Xander.

"Even better." Wesley encourages.

"I know." she sobs, putting her face in her hands. Willow and Wesley walk to her side and Wes gently touching her arm.

"What's the matter? She'll love it." Willow declares and Fred nods.

"I know, but she's not here." she explains and Gunn motions toward the staircase.

"She's just upstairs." he assures her and she holds the woman's shirt to her chest.

"Yes, but, when she's not around, I hurt." Fred tells them and Angel pats her back to soothe her.

xxxxxxx

Lorne bites his lip anxiously as he opens the door to the suite he's been preparing, so the woman and Faith can make their way inside. He just wants so badly to appease her, he feels as if she is disappointed he just might die.

"Oh, Lorne…" the woman breathes and Lorne prepares himself for the worst.

"It's, uh, it's too diva, isn't it? Diva, deity—it's a thin line." he sputters timidly but the woman shakes her head.

"It's lovely. There's that wonderful smell again— jasmine. Oh, really, Lorne. It's more than I could ask for." she thanks him, smelling the vase of flowers on her dresser.

"Oh, well, I'm as tickled as, uh, someone so tickled they're out of similes." Lorne laughs and Faith does too.

"Thank you again, Lorne." the woman says and Lorne nods pleased with himself before making his way back downstairs.

"You're troubled. Come, Faith. Tell me what's bothering you." the woman urges.

"I— I can't." Faith refuses, her eyes shining with fear.

"Of course you can. You can tell me anything." the woman insists, giving Faith a warm smile.

"It's just, I've done so many bad things in my life. Committed so many crimes." Faith starts to pace before stopping in front of the door and gesturing outside. "I mean at least Angel didn't have a soul when he did what he did. I don't have that excuse. I killed people because I felt like it… because I wanted to." Faith looks away and hangs her head.

"I know... all of it. I've watched you—not just these past days—but all your life and before. I saw how hard it was for you. You're absentee father, your alcoholic mother. Being a slayer, always being compared to someone else. Never measuring up. Never being enough. Never being accepted and loved. Faith, you deserve to be loved and appreciated. And you are. By me and by the others. You finally belong." the woman tells her, placing her hand on the slayer's shoulder. Faith looks up and smiles. Finally accepted. Finally appreciated. This is what she's been waiting for.

The others make their way into the woman's room, enchanted and attracted to her presence. She starts to tell them more stories about the old world, when Fred walks in, her gaze fixed on the shirt in her hand.

"Hi, I know it's not the exact same shirt, but it's pretty close, and I scrubbed the other one 'til my fingers bled, but I couldn't get out the— " Fred lifts her eyes to the woman and almost gasps in horror at what she sees. The woman she had been worshipping and following with the others is now that of a corpse. And she finishes her sentence with wide eyes, "blood."

"Fred? Is something wrong?" the woman wonders curiously and Fred cries out.

"I—I'm sorry." she stutters, shaking her head to try and dispel the image she's seeing.

"I'll get her some water." Xander says, taking off toward the kitchen.

"No, don't. I mean, I'll be fine." Fred insists, reaching a hand out and stopping Xander from leaving.

"What? What's all the booing and hooing, sweet pea?" Lorne asks as he pokes his head into the bedroom.

"Fred, there's no reason to cry. She's right there." Wesley reassures her and Fred keeps crying despite Wes's attempt at comforting words. How can this be happening? What is wrong with her?

"I—I know. I just started thinking what it would be like if you weren't here, and I guess I kinda lost it." she lies easily and the creature smiles. A horrible smile, filled with death.

"I'm not going anywhere, Fred. You can trust in that."

Fred closes her eyes and begins to retreat to the door.

"I think I just... need some time alone to...you know, count my blessings 'cause there's so many, and it's good to, um, take stock." she explains, leaving and sobbing as she runs to Buffy's old room. She sits on the edge of the young woman's bed and wonders where the slayer is. Her along with the others. She wipes at her tears as she stares blankly at the wall. She feels so alone, like there is no one. But being in the room, she knows she's not. Conner, Cordelia, Dawn and Buffy are out there and they must have seen what she's seeing. They'll know what to do.

Fred's eyes scan the room until they fall on the phone sitting idly on the night stand, she grabs it and dials the only number she can, but when Cordelia's voicemail alerts her the brunette is not taking calls, she sighs miserably.

"I know what you're thinking." Angel whispers and Fred twirls around to see Angel in the doorway. Her eyes flick nervously as she hopes maybe, just maybe, he might see it too.

"You do?" she questions hopefully and he pads into the room, his eyes scanning over a few of the things Buffy left behind, including her leather jacket.

"Sometimes, when I look in her eyes, I've seen it too. It's overwhelming. The lies, the deceit...just melts away. Nothing left but the beauty." Angel smiles as his fingertips brush the rough leather and Fred looks away uncomfortably.

"Um...yeah, it's...incredible." she agrees, twisting her fingers and wringing them around each other anxiously. She isn't sure if Angel is with her but she cant risk being caught. But caught doing what? Seeing the truth?

"I can't believe I almost ... seems like a lifetime ago." Angel sighs, thinking back to the woman's birth as his fingers release the fabric of Buffy's jacket he's clutching.

"It's all so different from what we expected." Fred acknowledges, hoping Angel picks up the hints she's dropping.

"Big, hideous evil trying to end the world? Nice to be wrong." he shrugs, a wide smile stretching across his lips. She almost cries again when she realizes that he doesn't know what she's saying, also his smiling is really creeping her out. Its just not normal, more like fake, constructed.

"Yeah, and now that she's here, everything just... seems so easy." she points out and Angel nods.

"I know. Feels like a dream." he says wistfully as he sits down beside her.

"Mm-hmm. But have you noticed how we all just kinda do what she says, don't ask questions?" Fred asks recklessly but Angel doesn't scream traitor, only smiles and Fred shudders.

"Isn't it a relief? Constant questioning—it's finally over." he tells her and Fred gives him a fake worrying smile. She's gotta get out of here.

xxxxxxx

Fred looks around nervously as she approaches the front desk and leans close to the receptionist stationed there.

"Um, hi. Um, yes. I'm looking for a patient—a man. He was brought in Thursday, named Stover." Fred whispers and the receptionist looks down a list of recent entries.

"Are you a family member?" she inquires and the receptionist's gaze makes Fred a little nervy.

"Am I—? Yes. I have a family. I'm a member. He's my brother. Father. My father's brother." Fred rambles, doing her best to convince the woman at the desk so she can gain access.

"I have a Stoller." the receptionist says looking to Fred again for an answer.

"Half-brother. Uncle. Half-uncle. Stoller. That's it. Please, I—I need to know if he's all right." Fred begs. She needs answers, is it just her that can see it or did the others run away because they could too?

"Dr. Keller treated him." the receptionist informs her and Fred nods.

"Is he still here?"

The receptionist logs onto her computer to check if he is still present and sees he was transferred.

"He was transferred to—" she looks back at the screen and her brows shoot up in surprise. "Oh." The receptionist tells her his new location and

Fred grumbles as she makes her way to the psychiatric unit of the hospital. Great, if she kept seeing what she was seeing _she _was going to end up in the psych ward. Well that's reassuring.

She walks down the hallway until the room number she was given comes into view. She walks in hesitantly, unsure of what to expect.

"John? John Stoller?" she calls out, seeing the young man in his hospital bed.

"Go away." he says immediately, keeping his gaze focused away from Fred.

"John, I have to ask you...Do you have a history of mental— What I mean to ask is, uh, have you been in this particular ward before?" Fred questions and the man rolls his eyes and turns to face her.

"You mean, am I crazy?" he corrects.

"Well, were you before Thursday?" Fred asks uneasily.

"Leave me alone." John tells her tearfully, turning away from her once again.

"I don't think you're crazy. I think I know what happened. I think I know what you saw because... I saw it too. The woman you attacked—" Fred begins to say.

"Not a woman." he interrupts, shaking his head in denial. No, not a woman.

"Her face—it's horrible, isn't it? Decaying, blood, things living there." she says quietly and the man begins to cry.

"You did see it?" he asks, relief coloring his tone.

"Yes." Fred confirms.

"Did it touch you?" John demands seriously and Fred furrows her brows in confusion.

"What?"

The man turns his face toward her, revealing the other side of it that was hidden by the shadow in the room. Fred almost hurls when she sees his face, grey and wrinkly with bumps covering the surface. And his eye… is different from the other one. A silvery black.

"Don't let it touch you." he warns, still sobbing quietly.

"Sh-sh-she did that to you?" Fred asks in shock as she stares down at the man.

"Untie me, please. I have to get out of here. I have to finish it." he says, sitting up right and looking toward Fred pleadingly.

"Finish what?" Fred wonders, still trying to keep her gaze off the damaged side of the man's face.

"She has to die. We have to kill it." he insists, trying again to pull on his restraints.

"We? No, I—I—uh, I mean, maybe, but, no…" Fred tells him nervously.

"You said you saw it." the man says in confusion and Fred nods.

"I did." she confirms.

"You've been called too." he whispers to her, his eyes filled with determination.

"Called?" Fred asks, unsurely. Called. What for?

"Called. To the mission." he says furiously.

"Called. No, I... I don't get called. I'm not the called type. I, you know, take messages for my boss. He gets called. Called?" she squeaks, doing her best not to breakdown right there. She isn't the one who gets called. That was what Buffy, Faith and Angel were for.

"It's our duty. Others won't see." the man screams, struggling against his restraints again.

"You're wrong. If what we saw is true, there are people who will understand, who will help." Fred denies, backing up slowly. She needed to find Buffy. If she saw this then she would know what to do.

"You've been called." the man tells her.

"No. Like I said, I—" Fred starts to say when her cell phone cuts her off. "OK that's just eerie. It's Angel. They're probably wondering where I am." she muses, looking down at her phone.

"You have to do it." the man tells her intently and Fred begins her hasty retreat.

"I—I have to go. Thank you for your time. I'm sorry to have disturbed you." she says pitifully and the man, John Stoller, screams.

"Don't trust her. Don't trust anyone!"

Is the last thing she hears before she takes off back to the Hyperion. Fred shakes her head as she nears the hotel. Her mind swimming with different images. The woman's more pleasant face, her true one, Angel and Buffy, the blood on the shirt. Its all so much to process. Being called. She wonders how Faith, Buffy and Angel dealt with it before this whole fiasco. She cant come up with an answer. Its still dark when Fred arrives back at the Hyperion, but its a lot fuller than the last time she was here. Two girls bustle past her as Fred makes her way inside, both of them chatting in excited tones.

"I've never seen you like this." the blonde one points out and the brunette nods enthusiastically.

"I'm telling you, you have to meet her. Come on." the brunette drags her friend inside and away from Fred as she makes her way into the lobby and finds Lorne talking with a few strangers.

"We are just excited head over teakettle about this entire event. I-I just can't even believe— " Lorne stops mid-sentence when he sees Fred walking in. "Hey, hey, hey, pumpkin. Where've you been?" he asks curiously.

"Out." she replies simply as she looks around the hotel at the hundreds of strangers crowded in their 'humble' abode. "What happened?"

"Oh, she went out for a walk—it was like A Hard Day's Night—everybody followed her back. Isn't it fabulous." Lorne says adoringly, before catching sight of someone, yet another person there to see the woman. Lorne points to them before turning to Fred. "Oh, hey, hey, hey. Excuse me, darling." he says then chases down the person he was trying to speak with. Fred searches the lobby for a familiar face. She doesn't know what she's doing but when she catches sight of Wesley she finds herself moving toward him.

"What is it?" he asks as he notices Fred's distressed expression. She needs someone to talk with. This is all too much. She cant get in touch with Cordy or the others and Wesley has always been there for her.

"I need you." she whispers, pulling Wes off to the side. Away from the others. "If I told you something—you know, that maybe you didn't want to know even—you'd trust me, right?"

"Of course." he replies undoubtingly.

"I...went to see that man from the restaurant. The one who—"

"The attacker? Why?" Wesley questions, cutting off her statement.

"That's what I wanted to know—why he would do that. Wesley, he saw something. We both s-saw something. I needed to know if it was the same something." Fred persuades him and he accepts her reason and desires to know what she found out.

"And?" he wonders.

"It was. Wesley, I know you're going to find this hard to accept, but— the woman she's not who you think she is. I looked at her earlier and I saw… it was horrible Wesley. Her face was decomposed and bloody." Fred tells him quietly, her whole frame shaking with the memory.

"Rotting flesh? Really?" Wes asks, interested.

"You don't believe me." Fred shakes her head, unsure of what to do next.

"If you say you saw it, I believe you." he says fiercely and Fred smiles in relief.

"He told me not to tell anyone, but I-I knew if I came to you—" Fred touches his arm and he cuts her off.

"You did the right thing." he assures her just as the woman in question walks out onto the balcony. The crowd cheers and Fred leans into Wesley to gauge her next move.

"You'll help me?" she asks hopefully and he nods at her.

"Of course I'll help you. Wait here." he replies, before Wesley ascends the staircase and tells Gunn something. They both stare down at her from the stairs and Fred feels an unfamiliar shiver run up her spine, as if something is wrong. Wes continues up the stairs whispering in Willow's ear, then reaching Angel, Faith and the woman and doing the same. Gunn finds Lorne and tells him something as well as Xander and Fred realizes that something is definitely _wrong_. She moves backward until she feels the weapons cabinet pressed up against her back and she whips it open as her friends talk to one another. She grabs a silver dagger and a crossbow just as Faith and Angel catch sight of her. Fred takes a deep breath to prepare herself before spinning around and aiming her crossbow toward the woman.

"I'm sorry." Fred whispers as her finger presses down on the trigger and the arrow soars through the air. Angel, on pure instinct, jumps in front of the woman, taking the arrow to the shoulder before falling to the lobby floor. Faith hurdles over the railing and lands beside the fallen vampire, helping him pull out the arrow and stand beside her. Fred cant help but see the way Faith kind of gravitates toward him and all she can think is how wrong the two of them look together. Wesley rushes down the stairs and Xander goes over to Fred's side.

"Fred! Are you crazy? What— I mean—" Xander is cut off as Fred snatches Xander backward and lifts the dagger to his neck.

"Fred!" Willow shouts and Fred turns to all of them.

"Don't come near me!" she screams pressing the blade lightly on Xander's neck.

"Put down the knife, Fred." Angel suggests as he attempts to take a careful step forward.

"I'll kill him!" she screams and Angel stops in his tracks.

"You don't know what you're doing." Gunn insists as he too, tries to take a step forward. He should know, she will if she has to, even if she really doesn't want to. Its survival. His life for hers.

"I'll kill him, Charles!" she yells, daring him to make another move.

"Easy, kiddo, huh?" Lorne says putting his hands up to show her he means no harm, but Fred doesn't move.

"There's nowhere you can go, Fred. My love will follow you everywhere." the creature tells her and Fred pushes Xander into the others and rushes out the door, pushing past the strangers in her way and jumping into her car. She shoves her key into the ignition and drives, with no plan of stopping until day breaks.

xxxxxxx

Angel and Faith motion toward the others to follow them out, so they can track Fred down but the woman stops them.

"Let her go. Now is not the time. We are all gathered here in peace. Let's not let her take that away from us." the woman tells them and they reluctantly agree. The crowd eventually thins into nothing and the others speak in the lobby.

"I can't believe Fred's evil." Wesley sighs, putting his head in his hands.

"Should've seen it coming." Gunn says sadly.

"Nothing like a homicidal maniac to put a damper on an impromptu spiritual gathering." Lorne tells them, sitting down on the couch dejectedly.

"What they saw tonight—it's not what I would have wanted, but now they all understand the reality of what hatred can do to a person." the woman informs them just as Angel pads into the lobby, a bouquet of jasmine in his arms.

"The reality is...we need to find Fred." Angel says, setting the flowers down and walking over to the others.

"Thank you, Angel. The scent—it soothes me." the woman says, pleased by the smell that fills the room.

"We leave now. Faith and I can probably still track her maybe even Buffy and the others." Angel says meandering toward the door with Faith.

"I know you're all in pain. You trusted Fred, Conner, Cordelia, Dawn even Buffy and they betrayed you." the woman sympathizes. Angel grimaces slightly.

"Forget us. She tried to kill you." Gunn tells them, standing up forcefully.

"And the sadness that brings me is immeasurable." she replies, her face etched with sadness.

"I should've just let her cut my head off instead. My species—decapitation loophole." Lorne says regretfully.

"Still might've stabbed me, let me bleed to death." Xander tells them.

"Why didn't I see it?" Angel questions, pacing back and forth. He doesn't know where Fred or the others could have gone.

"Angel, none of us did. You can't blame yourself." the woman says to him, rubbing his back soothingly.

"She was acting weird earlier, and I just thought it was Fred being Fred." he sighs, sitting down beside Lorne depressed and brooding.

"That man at the hospital—I'm still shocked she would go to see him." Wesley muses, his brows furrowing in disappointment.

"Once he had her there, must've monkeyed with her brain somehow." Xander says, thinking of how the guy could have done it.

"Maybe he made her do it, with magic." Willow says brightly, thinking of all the ways they could save her and the others.

"I doubt even Fred understands why she's so determined to destroy everything we're trying to create, which makes her even more dangerous." the woman tells them seriously.

"We have to kill her." Angel says and everyone hangs their head at the thought.

"And the others." Faith adds in realization, standing up from her seat on the floor.

"There's no other way." Xander concludes.

"As long as they're out there, they're a threat." Wes comprehends.

"It may come to that. But first, we have to try to help them. Get to the root of the hatred that's infected their hearts. Conner and Cordelia are my earth parents and I would very much like to spare them… as well as the others." the woman replies.

"The only way to do that is to bring them home. Let's go." Angel says, standing up and looking toward the door. But the woman shakes her head and tells them, "No. We'll find Fred and the others, but not tonight. Tomorrow will be easier than today. We'll have eyes everywhere."

xxxxxxx

Fred takes a plate, loaded with eggs, bacon, and hash browns and sips at her bland cup of coffee distractedly. She kept driving until the sun finally rose, then she pulled over and balled her eyes out before eventually parking and pulling her exhausted, cried out self into the diner.

"Here you go. Looks like you just lost your best friend." the waiter says pitifully and Fred nods. Its all so fresh, it did only happen a few hours ago but she feels so lost and alone.

"All of them. I never thought—" she starts to tell him but he cuts her off.

"Yeah, well, that's life in the big city." he grunts, handing her a bill for her meal and then turning up the volume on the small TV propped up on the wall.

"Welcome back. Chef Arnold Michske will join us later, but right now, we have the most amazing surprise. Please join me in welcoming a very special visitor: Jasmine!"

The TV host announces.

"Good morning, Los Angeles. Thank you for inviting me. This is a special day."

the woman, Jasmine, replies gratefully. Fred's brows furrow and her eyes move toward the screen as she sees the creature with sprigs of jasmine in her hair. And Fred's jaw goes slack as the woman's voice floats across the small quaint coffee shop.

"We want to know everything about you. Start at the beginning."

the TV host prods eagerly.

Fred looks around frantically as people come from off the streets to watch Jasmine speak. Her eyes widen in disbelief.

"Trish, in the beginning, before the time of man, great beings walked the Earth. Untold power emanated from all quarters—the seeds of what would come to be known as good and evil. Yet there was a balance. But the shadow stretched…"

Jasmine's voice fades as Fred stands and makes her way out of the diner, onto the empty street. She looks around and sees absolutely no one. She's alone.

xxxxxxx

"Okay if we go through the back, they'll never see us coming. I know for a fact the back isn't well guarded." Conner explains and Dawn smiles encouragingly at him as he and Buffy discuss strategy.

"That's good. So we'll take the back…" she marks an X on the makeshift map Cordelia made that her, Conner and Buffy are currently hunched over.

"Then I'll move in and take Angel if he catches sight of us." Buffy confirms, her features tight and her expression hard.

"Buffy are you sure…" Conner trails off, uneasy about the fact that Buffy will have to be the one to fight Angel.

"I'm not leaving you to fight your own father." Buffy retorts simply, her jaw clenching at the thought of having to take on Angel… again.

"If its too hard, I can handle-" Conner says sympathetically but Buffy slams her fist down on the coffee table in refusal.

"No, I'll deal with Angel and that's final. You'll take on Faith and Dawn will try to take on Xander… " Dawn groans falling back into her fathers couch. She doesn't like having to pit against her friends.

"This is like a suicide mission. Its pointless to even plan this thing out." Dawn grumbles and Buffy shakes her head.

"No, this is clearly pointy. Better to have a plan then to go in blindly, even if we're probably going to lose." Buffy trails off as Dawn and Conner move toward the window dejectedly. Its common knowledge they don't have much to go on and it was just about time they dispersed and went to sulk about their situation for a good half hour before trying again.

"Well that's reassuring really, you're instilling us with hope." Cordelia says sarcastically as she flips on the TV and audibly gasps at what she sees.

"Uh, guys. You're gonna wanna take a look at this." she advises, pointing toward the TV set with her remote. The others turn to look and almost double over as they watch the creature speaking casually with a reporter. This is bigger than any of them could have expected. While the others watch in horror Dawn turns to the windows watching the street empty and a lone girl come out of the diner across the street. She squints her eyes and shrieks when Fred's features become clear.

"Fred!"


	21. Chapter 20

A/N: Hey! So I'm here with a new chapter. I'm really getting invested into this story. I swear its like my baby. I'm planning on trying to tap into Angel's character more because I've been rewatching season 4 and I feel like I haven't addressed Angel's feeling's for Cordelia enough, or explained them so I'm going to be doing that but also over time I'm planning on adding more Wes and Fred bits into older chapters because I realized while they're one of my favorite coupledoms I haven't written any scenes for them and ones I did got left out by accident so if and when I do add these scenes I will definitely let you know where they are so you can read them. Anyway thank you again for reading, sorry about the super long author's note. Enjoy the chapter and don't forget to review!

* * *

**Carpe Noctum**

_Chapter 20_

Fred feels her heart racing in her chest and her adrenaline flowing as she pounds the pavement. Moments after she left the diner Wesley, Gunn and Xander were on her tail, chasing her all around town. She's been running ever since. Jasmine's interview is over and the streets are becoming flooded with people, people who are all smiley and … oblivious.

It makes Fred sick to her stomach with fear. She's running from her friends. Friends who now want to kill her. Her Wesley hunting her down. She looks over her shoulder and sees Gunn and Wes starting to catch up and she bites her lip nervously. She's got to get out of open sight or else they'll catch up with her for sure. She makes her way into the street slamming on a car window as she goes. Her eyes dart frantically around her as she looks for an escape. Any escape and in a flurry of panic she hands a woman her coat and ducks down into a sewer hatch. The smell is overwhelming as she cowers quietly listening to Gunn, Wesley and Xander's conversation flowing through the holes in the sewer hatch.

"All right, now I'm getting mad." Gunn scowls as he and Wesley scan the crowded court yard. He's getting annoyed. Jasmine wants Fred caught but she keeps slipping from their grasp everytime they think they've got her.

"Guys." Xander calls out, a little breathlessly as he finally catches up. He puts his hands on his knees and sighs. This running around is really doing a number on him. He's not built for this much physical activity. "I'm here. Found her?"

"No, but we will." Wes assures him, his eyes intent on his surroundings. He loves Fred, he really does, but he has to find her so he can bring her to Jasmine. Maybe Jasmine will be able to sway her back to the right side. One can honly hope for the best. And if she refuses to see reason well then she'll have to be eliminated.

"Do a whole lot worse than just find her." Gunn promises as he, Xander and Wesley scan the area. She's gotta be around there somewhere. They just have to look hard enough.

They keep looking for Fred until Wes points at a woman in the middle of the courtyard.

"There." Wesley says as he points to a woman. He and Gunn take off toward her and Xander takes a deep breath and follows suit.

They bump into a few people, throwing apologies over their shoulders until they finally reach the girl in question. Wesley spins her around and Xander frowns.

"Your jacket." Wesley points out and the woman grins.

"A woman gave it to me." she tells them excitedly. "She said Jasmine wanted me to have it. Isn't that sweet? Isn't Jasmine the _best_?" the woman asks and Wesley, Xander and Gunn nod.

"Best of the best." Gunn smiles.

"She's so wonderful." Wesley says sweetly.

"Amazing actually." Xander corrects, still short of breath.

"We should split up. She can't be far." Wesley points out and Gunn nods determinedly as Xander takes a deep breath.

"Agreed." Gunn says, taking the initiative with Wesley and going off to looks for Fred.

"Wait up. I just… oh boy." Xander complains as Gunn and Wes take off again. Xander sighs before he splits off in an opposite direction as Wesley and Gunn. He's tired but this is important. Jasmine needs him to do this. It's the least he can do for her.

xxxxxxx

"She's been down here." Conner tells Buffy as he closes his eyes and tries to focus on the scent that's barely clinging to the air. They've been freelance searching for Fred all day ever since they saw her outside the diner. Every time they think they've caught her she disappears and he loses track of her.

"How old were you when you realized you could track like this?" Buffy asks absently as her and Conner comb the sewers. Not exactly her favorite place in the world by the way. But she always thought the whole smelling people thing was just a vamp and werewolf specialty but here Conner is, tracking Fred down like it's nothing.

"I don't know. Five, six. We didn't exactly celebrate birthdays in Quor-Toth. Holtz made up a game so I could practice." Conner tells her quietly. It isn't exactly something he can say he's grateful for, while the tracking comes in handy, the days were long.

"What do you mean he'd hide things for you to find?" Buffy questions, her brow furrowing. What kind of games can you play on a hell demension anyway?

"Kind of. He'd tie me to a tree and then run away." Conner replies and Buffy's eyes widen and her jaw drops open. Tied him to a tree and ran away? How could someone do that to a little kid? In a demon dimension no less!

"What?" Buffy demands as she stops walking with him in the underground tunnel. He tries to shrug it off as he turns to her but she sees through it. She may not have Spike's way of seeing all truth in every person she sees but she knows that this affected Conner alot more than he's letting on.

"You know, so I'd have to escape and then find him. One time it only took me five days." Conner says, a little brighter and she scowls thinking of this Holtz guy and how much she'd like to find him and give him a piece of her mind, maybe a punch or two. She already didn't like him, after all she'd heard but this… made it even worse.

"Five days. He abandoned you... Connor, that's terrible. That's—" Buffy plans to tell Conner what she thinks but he interrupts her.

"Why I'm so good at tracking." Conner reasons, shrugging again before turning to the sewer again. He doesn't really want to talk about any of the stuff that went on in Quor-Toth. It's bad enough that Holtz tricked him into thinking his father killed him, thus resulting in Conner sinking him to the bottom of the ocean for three months. He wonders if Buffy knows about that. Probably best to never bring it up, ever. "Fred rested here for a while. But her scent is very faint she wasn't here long."

Understanding his need to drop the subject Buffy leaves well enough alone.

"Anything else?" she prompts and Conner shakes his head.

"No it stops." he replies, a look of confusion on his face.

"Huh, well, uh we better get back." Buffy advises and Conner nods, agreeing as they make their way back to the apartment.

xxxxxxx

"I'm too late, aren't I? For a room?" a man asks solemnly, his facial features contorted in sadness.

"Yeah, 'fraid so, Buckaroo. Singles, suites, even the mouse holes are triple-booked. I got pilgrims pitching pup-tents in the parking lot. Try saying that three times fast and you'll get a sense of the day I'm having." Lorne tells the man, standing at the front desk. The man frowns before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a set of keys.

"I'll give you my house if I can stay. It's nice. There's a pool." the man tells Lorne and the docile demon purses his lips sadly.

"Sorry, it doesn't work that way around here, partner." Lorne says to him, pushing his keys back at him. "Jasmine doesn't want your things, and neither do I."

"I just want to be near her, you know. Saw her on the news last night. And I wanted to say thanks for making me feel—" the man pulls his hand to his face and breaks into tears. Lorne shakes his head and nods sympathetically.

"Hey, preaching to the choir. I thought Our Lady of the Perpetual Sea Breeze was the real deal until the Divine Miss J walked right through that door and right into my ass—" Lorne pauses and the man's brows furrow. The green demon puts his hands up to explain. "Which is where my heart is...physiologically. I could show you an x-ray."

The crowd oohs and ahs as Jasmine enters the room. Angel and Faith are with her.

"Hey, don't be shy, Slim Jim. Go get some of that gorgeous goodness." Lorne encourages and the man grins at him before turning to face Jasmine.

"Hello, and thank you all for coming." Jasmine says pleasantly as she enters the lobby and greets people in her pathway. "Your child will lead a healthy and loving life." she says to a Chinese woman she passes. The woman bows repeatedly wanting to convey her respect for Jasmine.

"How do you do that?" Angel whispers in awe as they continue into the lobby.

"Mandarin's not so tough when you've been around a zillion years." she says lightly but Angel shakes his head.

"No, I mean, how is it that you always know exactly what each person needs to hear." he wonders and she smiles.

"Just look into their hearts. And sometimes, it's right on their face." she explains as they come upon a man with a large mustache. "Señor…" Jasmine addresses and the man looks up at her eagerly.

"Si?"

"Tu bigote te da fuerca y dignida.*" she tells him and he smiles broadly.

Your moustache provides you great strength and dignity.*

"Gracias. Muchas gracias." the man replies as the three of them delve deeper into the lobby.

"I wish I could see what you see." Faith sighs, her eyes sparkling with wonder.

"You will." Jasmine assures her before turning to all the other people in the Hyperion's lobby. "Hello. My love is all around you."

Angel catches sight of Wesley, Gunn and Xander and turns to Faith and nudges her.

"Will you excuse us for a moment?" he says to Jasmine as he and Faith make their way to the back office where Willow, Xander, Gunn and Wesley have gathered, discussing their search for Fred and the others.

"This close, then she pulled a Houdini." Gunn tells them with frustration and Faith's face contorts in confusion.

"What's a Houdini?" the slayer questions. She probably would know something about Houdini if she stayed in school.

"She escaped." Wesley says curtly and Faith shrugs.

"What about Buffy, Conner, Dawn and Cordelia? Any trace of them?" Willow wonders and Xander sighs.

"We didn't get a single trace of them." he replies, shaking his head.

"Fred's obviously learned a trick or two here at Angel, Inc. But we'll catch her. And Buffy, well she's got a history of disappearing before right?" Angel prompts and Willow and Xander nod heartily. They remember very clearly when he disappeared, right after she had to kill Angel.

"We'll find them. Bring back their scalps." Faith grunts and Wesley shakes his head vigorously.

"No. Jasmine wants her alive." he insists and Angel nods in agreement. What Jasmine says goes.

"Wes is right. Fred and the others get to live until we understand why they rejected Jasmine's love." Angel reasons and Willow cocks her head to the side in bewilderment.

"Why would anybody reject love?" she asks and Xander shrugs.

"Maybe 'cause she has a history of doing that." Gunn grumbles. Fred did reject him when he tried to be with her… it's a good thing Faith is here now.

"Whatever the reason is, we have to find them so Jasmine can straighten them out." Angel tells them and they all exchange looks before they disperse, going back out into the lobby.

Jasmine watches as Willow, Gunn, Wesley, Angel, Xander and Faith trickle out of the back room, disappointment written all over their faces. She frowns for a moment before turning to the crowd and picks a woman out of the crowd as well as the man that tried to check in earlier.

"Would you like to come with me?" Jasmine asks and the woman nods. "And you, my friend, will you join us?" she questions and the man smiles.

"Yes. Thank you." he replies.

"Bless you all for coming." Jasmine tells the people in the lobby before turning and ascending the stairs, the man and woman following behind her.

"You think she'll ever pick us?" Xander sighs as he and Wes watch Jasmine and her two followers disappear up the stair case.

"If we're lucky. But not before we find Fred." Wesley says and Xander nods with him.

"And the others." Xander agrees, a whole new wave of determination washing over him.

xxxxxxx

Fred bites her lip and takes a deep breath as she shuffles down the empty street, shooting nervous glances over her shoulder. She swears someone's following her. She wouldn't have risked the trip out but she needs to find a way to fight Jasmine. She doesn't know where Buffy or the others are and she needs to do _something. _As the "Magic Bullet Books" store comes into view she speeds up her pace, swallowing hard just as she comes to the mouth of an alley. Before she can even get past it four figures step out and Fred screams fearfully.

"Fred!" Cordelia squeals. She's never been so glad to see Fred.. alive and well.

"You're okay!" Dawn says as she throws her arms over Fred's frame. Fred's eyes widen before she starts to cry. They're really there. In the flesh. She's not alone anymore.

"I'm so glad you guys are here." Fred sobs, trying to catch her breath. She can't believe they found her. She can feel relief washing over her. "I was so alone."

"You're not alone, Fred. Not anymore." Buffy assures her and Fred smiles at them all. She sighs as she swipes away her tears and chuckles softly.

"Sorry, y'all. I just got so worked up." she tells them, blushing in embarrassment. She doesn't like to breakdown, not when they're so much thats always going on but it's just been so hard being all off on her own.

"Its okay Fred." Conner tells her and Buffy's brows furrow as she takes in the seedy area they finally located Fred in. It isn't exactly the place she'd expect ot find her.

"So. what are you doing here Fred?" Buffy wonders, her eyes scanning the area to look out for any unwelcome visitors. You can never be too careful.

"I figured this guy was my only chance to figuring out where to go from here. I couldn't find you guys and… did I say how happy I am to see you?"

"Just about five times." Buffy quips and Fred grins gratefully. They really don't understand how happy she is and relieved, very relieved.

"Well I am. What's are you guys doing here anyway?" Fred wonders curiously.

"Tracking you." Conner supplies and Fred scrunches her nose in distaste. She forgot Conner could do that. She can't help but find the whole thing mildly creepy.

"Oh." she replies simply and Buffy smirks at her reaction. She knows exactly how Fred feels. Even when Oz used to do it, it gave her the wiggins. It's just not natural to be so stealthy and track-y.

"That's what I said, its helpful though." Buffy shrugs and Cordelia puts a hand on her hip. Is she the only one who thinks all the heroes have ADHD or something?

"Alright are we going in or what?" the brunette questions impatiently and Fred jumps over and wraps her arm around Cordelia tightly.

"Oh how I've missed you Cordy." she says happily and Cordelia smiles as she hugs back.

"Lets go." Buffy says as Fred and Cordelia separate, following Buffy, Dawn and Conner into the book store.

"Um, hi. You probably don't remember me—" Fred starts to say to the guy at the counter but he shakes his head.

"Three days ago. Mass hypnosis. You wondered if it was possible." he tells her and she gestures to the stack of books behind him.

"I read those books. Some wacko theories, by the way. All of the mass hypnosis theories seem highly flawed to me. I'm looking for a type of mind control that could affect everyone across the board." Fred tells him and he pauses before turning to sift through a different stack.

"I might have a book on that." he replies as he keeps looking. As they wait Cordelia, Dawn, Fred and Conner drift around the store searching for anything useful. Buffy keeps her eyes firmly placed on the guy at the counter, her fingers clenched in a tight fist.

"Astral Projections. Satan's Dictionary? You must get some pretty colorful customers in here." Cordelia states as she fingers a few books set up in the middle of the store.

"Used to. You're the only customers I've had since last time you were here." he shrugs casually, his face void of any real emotion.

"Oh." Fred says as she and the others watch the man move books with crime scenes and bodies out of the way. He chuckles and shakes his head as he holds one up and shrugs.

"Not a huge demand for photo books of serial killer autopsies when you're living in a utopian wonderland. You know what I mean?" he asks and Dawn looks sympathetically at the man while Buffy still looks grossed out by the books he showed them.

"I hadn't really thought it— Must be hard." Fred concludes and he shakes his head. Of course with Jasmine's new world order no one would come in and start looking for books about anything really. Not when they're being controlled and distracted by the enchantment their under.

"Hard? Are you kidding? It's great." he counters and Dawn brightens at his attitude. She kind of felt bad about him losing all his customers but he seems happy despite it. Not that it really makes a difference. The Jasmine thing is bad either way, its just nice to see someone benefiting.

"Great? Really?" she wonders and he shrugs nonchalantly.

"Yeah. Look at me. I've never been happier." he tells them and Cordelia quirks an eyebrow. He doesn't look all that happy. Truth be told he doesn't look all that anything, but that's just her assumption. Maybe the others disagree.

"Uh, sure. I see it now. You're practically glowy." Buffy supplies lamely and Cordelia shakes her head sadly. No one disagrees.

"I was flicking through the radio the other night—there's nothing really good on since Art Bell retired. But, uh, ended up listening to this woman talk."

"Jasmine." Conner says grimly and Dawn casts her gaze to the floor.

"Yeah. You too, huh? What a breath of fresh air she is. I listened for almost an hour. I'm a new man. I-I used to be obsessed with mind control. I read everything I could get my hands on."

"And you don't believe in it anymore?" Buffy asks and the man shrugs.

"I believe. I just don't worry about it anymore." he tells them, walking behind the counter.

"So, you don't worry that it's possible for someone to send out a biological or electronic trigger that effectively overrides your own sense of ideals and values, and replaces them with an alternative coercive agenda that reduces you to little more than a mindless meat puppet?" Fred prompts, leaning forward trying to bait him. He still has to be freaked about mind control, especially now when he's an actual a victim of real life mind control.

"Wow. People used to think that I was paranoid. I mean, don't get me wrong. I still got the implants in my head. C.I.A. is still listening in. It just doesn't bother me anymore. Instead, I—I beam Jasmine's love up to their satellite, you know? Share the love with those M.K.-Ultra bastards." the man says.

"That'll teach 'em." Buffy grins sarcastically. Conner snickers at her comment and Dawn brings her hand up to her face.

"Hey. Now I get it." the man says, squinting at them and all their eyes widen as he points at them knowingly.

"You do?" Cordelia asks nervously and Buffy tenses at her side, ready to strike if she has to as her and the others eye the man behind the counter ever so cautiously. Buffy doesn't want to hurt the guy but if its them or him, she's gonna have to go with them.

"Yeah. I know what you're doing." the shopkeeper nods before reaching into his desk drawer and pulling out a pistol. Buffy goes to make a move but his hand reaches back into the drawer and Dawn puts her hand on her sisters shoulder to restrain her as the man pulls out a yo-yo and then a book entitled "Making Mind Control Work for You." He holds the book up for them to see.

"You want to fight fire with fire. Make sure the government and the other savages learn about Jasmine's love." the man says grinning as he gestures toward the small book in his hand. Fred smiles and grits her teeth.

"Exact— that's exactly right. Why should we be the only shiny, happy people?" Fred counters as she reaches her hand out for the book he's holding. There's a possibility that there might be something in there on how to fix this.

"We don't need to use the evil tools of "the man" when we have "the wo-man"." he tells her, pulling the book out of Fred's grasp. "We need to trust that Jasmine's love will reach the rest of the world just like it reached us."

"Oh, happy day." Dawn says through a clenched jaw and Conner rubs her back soothingly. Guess they're gonna have to figure this out another way. One that doesn't involve the help of other people who happen to be Jasmaniacs.

xxxxxxx

Jasmine sits in front of a laptop with Willow, Lorne, Gunn, and Xander as a clip from Jasmine's interview on "Good Morning LA" plays back.

"_Before the time of man, great beings walked the Earth. Untold power emanated from all quarters—"_

Jasmine presses pause and shakes her head in embarrassment.

"I sound like the prologue to one of those movies about magical dwarves." she tells them, shakign her head back and forth at her silly tone.

"Hobbits." Gunn corrects playfully before furrowing his brows. "And you watch movies?" he wonders and she smiles at him.

"I love movies." Jasmine replies, beaming up at him from her chair.

"Well, then you should know this is the greatest story ever told." Lorne informs her and Jasmine touches his arm and smiles. "Sweet."

"The design team will have your site ready to go in a couple of days. Just let me know when you want it to go online." Willow tells Jasmine and she nods, standing up and stretching.

"Soon." she says as Gunn, Lorne, Wesley, Xander and Willow watch and worship Jasmine in muted awe.

"I still don't understand why you don't just sashay into a TV studio, say, 'scoot over Regis' and sweet-talk your love to the whole wide world." Xander insists and Jasmine shrugs and smiles lazily at him.

"It's not the world's time yet. There's still a lot I have to learn." she tells them wisely, turning toward the door when a knock sounds. "Come in."

"You called us." Angel says as he and Faith walk through the door together. They were just out on patrol when Angel felt this overwhelming feeling bubbling in his chest. Something that told him that Jasmine was calling and he just had to come.

"How did you do that?" Faith asks with wide, appreciating eyes. She just knew it when Jasmine needed them.

"We felt it." Angel says in wonder and Jasmine nods.

"We're all becoming connected—all of us. And, now that you're all here, I want to test that connection. We're going to find Buffy, Fred, Cordelia, Conner and Dawn."

"Isn't that what we've been trying to do?" Faith questions and Jasmine shakes her head.

"This is different. No more running around town. Everybody, join hands. I can't do this alone. Not yet. I want y'all to close your eyes. Now, picture Buffy. Picture what she looks like: her face, her big hazel eyes, the way she styles her hair, the clothes she likes the wear, the sound of her voice, what she looks like when she smiles. Now concentrate. Where are you, Buffy? I'm looking for you." Jasmine drawls as the gang bands in a circle and joins hands. Angel watches as the others close their eyes and takes a deep unnecessary breath before joining them.

"I see her. I see them all." Jasmine smiles as she uses her followers eyes to track them.


	22. Chapter 21

A/N: Okay everyone this is my last update until I go to visit relatives. I'm not sure if I'll have internet, so I might not be able to post another chapter for abput 2 1/2 weeks. But its pretty unlikely I wont be able to get a connection so hopefully I'll see you soon! By the way, I just created my first fan video (Buffy and Angel) and I would really appreciate it if you guys would go take a look at it. The link to the video is on my profile page, so maybe you could go and watch it? Maybe drop a comment to tell me how I did? That'd be amazing if you could and I would really appreciate it. Anyway, so chapter 21 is here. Any typos are mine. Enjoy and don't forget to review please!

* * *

**Carpe Noctum**

_Chapter 21_

Buffy looks left and right as her and the others lead Fred to her dad's apartment. They didn't get much of anything out of the bookstore guy. He'd a;ready been affected which left her and the others out of luck. It was time to pull back and regroup, hopefully with some snacks, so they can figure out what they shoudl do next. They're about five blocks away when a man and a woman walk past, giggling and kissing until suddenly they snap their heads up and watch Fred, Buffy, Cordelia, Dawn and Conner pass by. Conner squeezes Dawn a little tighter as she looks over her shoulder to the couple who have started following after them.

"Buffy…" Dawn says uneasily as they continue forward. They approach the apartment door, Buffy's hand is on the handle when an old woman smoking a cigarette grabs Cordelia's arm roughly. Fred helps Buffy pull Cordelia away from the old woman's grasp, before looking back and seeing the couple getting closer.

"Okay this isn't cool. What do we do?" Cordelia shrieks and Buffy watches as more and more people off the street start to come their way.

"We fight them?" Buffy says questioningly, trying to come up with a strategy that doesn't harm anyone too badly.

"They're humans, Buffy." Dawn reasons and Buffy bites her lip. The strategy is getting weaker and weaker every second. How is she supposed to get past them without hurting anyone in the process.

"We can't take this many people." Conner tells her and Buffy points past the apartment and toward the opposite end of the street. New plan.

"Okay, plan B? We run." she yells.

Conner grabs Dawn's hand as he, Cordelia, Fred and Buffy run away from the mob forming as fast as they can. They cross the street and Dawn screams as they pass a man pouring gasoline into the tank of his blue car. The man in the white car runs into the blue car, igniting the gasoline in a fiery explosion. The driver steps out of the white car, catching fire, and walks toward Dawn.

"Dawn, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid, Dawn."

xxxxxxx

The gang still stands in the middle of Jasmine's room, their hands intertwined when the hand Jasmine's holding Faith's with turns deep red and starts to smoke.

"Ah!" Faith shouts as she pulls her hand from Jasmine's. Jasmine's knees buckle beneath her and Angel and Faith kneel down beside her to help her up.

"Easy! Lorne, a chair!" Angel demands and Lorne scrambles to pull up a chair. They place Jasmine in it and Gunn, Wesley, Willow and Xander rush to her side.

"What happened?" Willow asks in a worried tone and Faith meets their inquiring gazes.

"Her hand got hot." Faith provides and Wesley gently lifts Jasmine's hand in his.

"She's badly burned." he tells them somberly and Lorne motions to the door.

"Call a doctor." the green demon declares but Jasmine shakes her head in refusal.

"No, no, I'll be fine. I just need to rest." she insists but Angel looks down at her with concern.

"We should get you a doctor."

"I'm fine. I saw all of them, clear as I'm seeing you. Obviously, there're some painful kinks to work out, but it's a start." she tells them as she pushes herself out of the chair.

"She got away, didn't she?" Faith asks quietly.

"Yes. But don't worry. Everybody who loves me now knows what she looks like, knows to catch her, knows to call us. There's no place any of them can hide." Jasmine tells them intently and they all stare at her lovingly.

"What do you want us to do?" Xander questions and Jasmine smiles.

"You already know." she replies.

"She's right. There's work to do here. We have a hotel full of people, people who have needs." Angel reasons and they nod in agreement.

"You know what they say about people who need people…" Lorne trails off.

"They're the luckiest people in the world." Faith finishes cheerily and Lorne smirks.

"You been sneaking peeks at my Streisand collection again, kiddo?" he wonders and she giggles.

"Just kinda popped out." she tells them and Xander and Willow exchange a look. Giddy is very out of character of Faith, but they're both finding the new Faith quite refreshing.

"This is what I'm talking about. Everything is becoming connected—the same way I saw Buffy and the others."

"Are you saying that we're becoming psychic?" Angel questions skeptically.

"No, what I'm saying is—"

"Hot water just went out down on the third floor—" Gunn interrupts and Wesley points to the door in astonishment.

"And there's a plumber in the lobby who can help us." he tells them and Willow grins.

"That's what I'm saying. Now, I need to rest, focus on healing my hand. Oh, there're a pair of sisters in the lobby."

"Blondes." Angel provides.

"The Bailey's." Lorne tells them.

"Twins." Xander supplies.

"I'll ask them if they'd like to come up and visit you." Willow says and Jasmine smiles, pleased.

"Exactly what I was thinking. This is only the beginning. No one will ever have to feel lonely again." she tells them enthusiastically.

xxxxxxx

Conner, Dawn, Fred, Cordelia and Buffy are meandering along the side of a highway in the hills outside L.A. Conner carelessly kicks a rock, sighing dejectedly.

"This blows." Dawn grumbles and Cordelia groans in frustration.

"My feet are killing me." she complains halfheartedly. She's so tired and upset she doesn't even have the energy to whine.

"I can't believe we're on the run." Conner says in disbelief. He knows they were on the run before but now they didn't even have a place to lay their head. They were literally on the run.

"All we have to do is get the others." Buffy assures them and Dawn narrows her eyes at her sister. Buffy's been saying that since Jasmine first showed up. She knows her sister is the slayer and she's gotten out of worse before but things just aren't looking good for any of them right now. Their biggest accomplishment so far was finding Fred. They're still pretty much at square one.

Buffy sighs as she watches Cordelia and Fred and Conner and Dawn huddle together as they all pound the pavement sluggishly. She can't help but feel the pressure weighing down on her. This isn't her thing. She's the one who fights the fight, not the one who does all the research-y stuff. That's totally Willow and Wesley's department, but seeing as they're both under Jasmine's thrall and all the research material is with them makes that point completely moot. She glances back toward the others and sighs inwardly. She's got a lot on her shoulders, Angel, Jasmine, the latest and greatest apocalypse. But she needs to concentrate on a solution on a plan. She has to—

Suddenly an SUV screeches to a stop ahead of them before accelerating backward toward them. Buffy's eyes quickly gauge her surroundings and the only escape she can see might not be an escape at all, but she has to try.

"This way!" she yells at the others turning and running down the steep hillside. Dawn stumbles on the way down and Conner picks her up and heaves her over his shoulder. Cordelia, Fred and Buffy keep running forward with Dawn and Conner trailing close behind when they fall through a hole in the ground. Conner's eyes widen but he's too late to stop and him and Dawn stumble into the hole with the others. Fred screams as she finds a small midget demon laying right next to Buffy. She rolls over and wrestles with the demon as Cordelia grabs an axe from nearby and rears it back to strike at the creature. The thing rolls off Buffy and throws its hands up in surrender.

"I'm vegetarian!" he yelps, panic stricken and Buffy Fred narrows her eyes.

"Really? With those choppers?" Fred questions sarcastically and the small demon rolls his eyes.

"OK. I eat fish and occasionally vermin, but that's it, I swear! You believe me, don't you?" he pleads and Conner grunts at the thing.

"You're still breathing, aren't you?" he prompts.

"More like hyperventilating. You scared the cream cheese outta me. What're you doing?" the demon questions harshly and Buffy brushes herself off, moving to stand beside Fred and Cordelia. Dawn sighs as she feels a pain her shoulder, her and the others sit down cautiously and Dawn takes off her jacket to inspect where the pain's coming from.

"Don't—don't do that." the demon says as Dawn winces and touches her cut. Conner bends over her and looks it over. "Go on. Get a room." the demon tells them and Buffy scowls.

"Sit down! Any monkey business, and I'll chop you down like a cherry tree." Cordelia threatens, holding up the axe in her hand for good measure. Buffy looks to Dawn with concern.

"You okay, Dawnie?" the slayer asks and Dawn shakes her head.

"I'll live." she promises and Conner pulls her against him.

"So, we just gonna sit here like this?" the demon asks after a stretch of silence and Fred levels her gaze with the thing.

"Maybe." Fred retorts and the demon shifts on his seat across from Fred, Conner, Cordelia, Buffy and Dawn.

"Can you give me a time frame? Because I got a bladder the size a jujube." the creature complains and Buffy puts her hands on her hips menacingly. She's really getting annoyed now.

"Shut up! I'm trying to figure some stuff out." Buffy tells the thing bitingly. Cordelia watches the creature warily as Buffy tries to figure out their next move.

xxxxxxx

"Consider all of them armed, dangerous, and quite possibly insane. Don't let Fred's grace and gentle beauty, Dawn's innocent face, Conner's clueless expression, Cordelia's shiny hair and keen fashion sense, or Buffy's bouncy shampoo commercial hair fool you. They all are monsters, sirens hoping to lure you away from Jasmine and onto the rocks of heresy and destruction." Wesley warns gesturing to the poster size pictures of the five of them that Willow and Xander continue to showcase on shuffle.

"Amen to that." Gunn agrees from Wesley's right side.

"Now, uh, Lorne has a few important announcements and, as I understand, a very special surprise." Wesley informs the people in the crowded lobby, stepping off stage with Willow, Xander and Gunn to allow Lorne to have the stage.

"Blessings and moon-pies, brethren and sistren. I'll cut right to the chase and start with the hourly Jasmine report. Her royal yumminess is currently resting after a particularly exhausting day. No word yet whether she'll make a drive-by this evening or not." Lorne announces and the crowd visibly deflates at the prospect of not seeing Jasmine.

"Good news for you third floor faithful: the hot water's back on." Lorne says, lightening the mood.

"OK, and now—and now it's time for that big surprise we've been talking about. Tonight we're gonna try kicking it a little different at fellowship hall because tonight—tonight is open mic night." Lorne shouts enthusiastically and the crowd erupts into cheers.

"That's right, that's right, love bugs. So anyone who wants to get up here and share their personal joy about good queen Jasmine is more than welcome. So, who wants to get the ball rolling?" Lorne questions, twirling the mic in his fingers.

"'Why I Love Jasmine' by Lenford Detweiler. I love Jasmine because she makes food taste good."

"Jasmine rocks. Jasmine rocks." a long haired guy fist pumps as he cheers.

"I wish I could be in Fred's skull...so I could explode her brain and kill her for rejecting Jasmine." a deaf woman signs and the crowd murmers in total agreement with the woman's statement.

"Freddie's dead...Oh, that's what I said." Lorne sing songs.

"I have 37 cats, and I've just changed all their names to Jasmine." an old woman announces happily and the crowd claps.

"_Now we realize how happy you've made us, oh, Jasmine. You came and you gave without taking…_" Angel and Faith sing into the microphone together, gazing out at the crowd.

"We should be doing this every night." Gunn says and Xander, Willow and Wesley smile and nod.

"_And we'll keep you forever, oh, Jasmine. You came and you gave without taking... And we'll keep you forever, oh, Jasmine_."

xxxxxxx

"Kinda drafty in here, what with that hole you smashed in the roof. You mind if I quest for fire?" the demon asks, standing up hesitantly. Cordelia exchanges a glance with Buffy before jumping to her feet and glaring in the demon's direction. She as much as anyone knows that some demon's can be good. Doyle was good. Lorne's good, well not right now, but that isn't his fault. And she was a demon and she was good, sort of. Either way just because there are a few exceptions doesn't mean this demon is.

"Forget it. I'll just freeze to death. Not like I care anymore. On the run like an animal." the demon says, sitting back down and pouting to himself.

"You don't live here?" Dawn questions in surprise and the demon scowls at her.

"Do you live in a dirt hole?" he wonders anhrily and Dawn's brows furrow.

"No." she replies simply and he stares at her.

"Do you want to live in a dirt hole?" he counters and she shakes her head.

"No."

"Then why the hell do you think that I live in a dirt hole?" the demon replies sarcastically, crossing his tiny arms over his chest.

"You're a demon." Fred points out and the demon stands, indignantly.

"I'm an executive demon, thank you very much. I had an office and an assistant and a beautiful porcelain cup for my tea. Now I live in a dirt hole because of those freakin' Jasmaniacs and their demon jihad!" the demon shrieks and Conner's eyes widen.

"Wait. You're here because of Jasmine? So are we. We're fugitives too." he tells him and the demon shakes his head.

"Wow. Amazing. Two beings dissimilar as you and me discovering a shared link against a common foe. Huh. The irony. My feelings for you are changing. I feel warmth." the demon says before glaring at Cordelia and Buffy. "Wait. No, I don't. That's just me wetting myself because you wouldn't let me pee! Thanks for nothing."

"Hey, we're as new to this fugitive thing as you are." Fred retorts and Buffy shakes her head.

" That's what we've been trying to suss out all night—how Jasmine controls people. We have to stop her!" Buffy tells him, running a hand through her hair absently. Some demons are nice, right? Clem is nice. Lorne is nice. Maybe this one is too.

"OK, fine, we'll stop her, but not tonight." the demon says as he pads over to his corner of the cave. "Not 'til I've had a little shuteye." he tells them as he pulls back his blanket from the floor. "I'm beat."

Cordelia grips her axe tighter as Buffy looks down and sees the pile of severed human hands. She glares at the little midget demon. Just had to prove her wrong right? Conner's mouth is open in shock and disgust as he watches the creature try to act innocently.

"Huh. Hey, these yours? 'Cause I've never seen 'em before. Why would anyone keep a stash of these tasty little—uh, disgusting meaty things like this laying around?" the demon wonders, as he picks one of the hands up and starts drooling on it. Drooling!

"OK, so, not a vegetarian." the demon admits, breaking one of the fingers off and munching on it. " Finger food?" he laughs before lunging at Fred and growling as they both fall to the floor. Cordelia tosses Buffy the axe and she looks for an opening.

"I got your demon jihad right here!" the demon grunts as he tries to take a bite out of her. Fred grabs the demon by its neck as it sinks its teeth in her. She screams just before Buffy brings the axe down and embeds it in the demon's head.

"Well that wasn't pleasant at all." Fred mumbles weakly as she gets up from the ground and Dawn looks perplexedly down at the dead demon. He seemed so… normal. Fred looks down at her arm and notices blood soaking through the fabric of her shirt. Her eyes furrow when she notices Buffy's bleeding too.

"Tough break." Cordelia provides and Buffy pouts down at her shirt. She really liked this one.

"Why are you bleeding?"

"Oh, don't know must have nicked my self with the axe or something." Buffy shrugs, shaking her head and ignoring the blood.

"What are we supposed to do now?"

"If we could just get to the others…" Conner trails off, frowning at the obvious obstacle of the entire Hyperion surrounded and filled with too many opponents.

Fred sighs as she brings her fingers up to press down on her wound, her mind is dazed and that's when she realizes what they need to do and how they need to do it.

"Okay, I think I just came up with a plan." Fred offers and Buffy grins mischievously. Finally they're getting somewhere.


	23. Chapter 22

A/N: Hey all! I know its been a while since I've updated. I'm still on vacation but I finally found somewhere with connection. So, voila. Chapter 22. Anyway, I hope you guys like it. Any typos are mine and please, please, please don't forget to leave a review and tell me what you think might happen, what you like and what you would like to happen. Enjoy, and look forward to another chapter soon!

* * *

**Carpe Noctum**

_Chapter 22_

Buffy, Conner, Fred, Cordelia and Dawn stand in front of the "Magic Bullet Bookstore" as a passive crowd surrounds them and stares.

"Here we are. Come and get us." Buffy breathes as her and the others push open the door and walk inside the bookstore, where the man from their last visit waits for them.

"Hey, Fred. Buffy, Dawn, Cordelia, Conner." the mans says excitedly, waving at them. And Buffy can feel the wiggins coming on.

"You know our names." Dawn states and the man nods.

"You're famous." he tells them and Buffy squares her shoulders and holds up her fightin' axe. The wiggins are definitely here and they're not leaving.

"I'll chop out your implants, you come any closer." she assures him and he sticks his hands up in surrender.

"No need to worry. We're under strict orders not to hurt you." he explains and Conner scoffs, shaking his head. This is it. Its now or never.

"So, Jasmine's coming for us?" Fred questions as she backs toward the desk, Conner and Dawn flanking her discreetly.

"Yeah. Could I get your autographs?" the man pleads and Fred, Conner, and Dawn make their way behind the desk.

"Anything for a fan. Who should I sign it to?" Fred wonders as she reaches into the drawer.

"To me, of course." Jasmine says, Faith and Angel on each side. Buffy beats back the barb in her chest at the sight of Faith and Angel. Its not the time or place to be jealous. Jasmine walks toward the man and smiles at him.

"And to reward you for your faithfulness: Dallas, November 22, 1963—there was no second gunman. Oswald acted alone." she tells him and the man gets on his knees.

"Oh, my God!" he squeals and Cordelia hits her face with her palm. Of course this guy would get weak kneed at that type of thing. She shakes her head and focuses on the scene unfolding before her. No way in hell that bitch is taking her alive. Buffy and Cordelia back up until their positioned right. Cordelia behind the desk and Buffy in front of it, ready to take the heat with Fred, Conner, Cordelia and Dawn behind her.

"You know that I love you, don't you, Buffy? And there's nothing that you can do or say to make me stop loving you." Jasmine tells the blonde slayer. Angel and Faith remain neutral as Buffy stares straight ahead.

"I'm so sorry." Buffy apologizes as Fred hands her the gun over the counter.

"It's OK. I forgive you." Jasmine coos and Buffy shakes her head and turns to Angel.

"No, I'm talking to Angel. I hope _he _can forgive me." she whispers, turning her eyes toward Angel as she raises the gun and shoots Jasmine. The bullet passes though her and pierces Angel's shoulder. He growls, vamping out and charging at Buffy. He violently pulls her out from behind the desk and slams her up against the desk. He rips the gun from her hands and points it at her jaw.

Dawn winces in panic and the others stand tensely, ready to strike but Buffy sees the unchallengeable truth in Angel's beautiful eyes.

"Dumb idea for such a skilled fighter. You know bullets don't kill me." Angel taunts, cocking the gun and pressing it to her jaw again. "But on you? These things are always helpful."

Buffy stares at him, never wavering as he presses his weight against her and glares at her.

"Look at her, Angel." Dawn sobs from the other end of the counter and Angel hesitantly looks over at Jasmine to see the same thing the others have been seeing all along. His vampire visage disappears and he backs away from Buffy, dropping the gun and staring at Jasmine in horror.

"No." Angel chokes out and Jasmine's features become pained."Angel." she tries to say as she leans on Faith.

"I'm sorry, Dad. We had to show you. I'm so sorry." Conner apologizes and Buffy's jaw tightens as she looks away.

"Show you what?" Faith demands and Angel shakes his head in denial. This cant be happening. it's a nightmare.

"No. It can't be. No." he pleads, closing his eyes. All of it. Lies.

"My blood…" Jasmine says in realization.

"Angel, what's going on?" Faith questions, walking over to Angel to check on him. Fred and Buffy's eyes fall on the gun laying a few feet away from Fred.

"Don't. He's been infected. I'm sorry, Faith. He's as dead to us as Buffy, Fred and the rest of them." Jasmine tells the brunette and Faith shakes her head in disbelief. Things had been going so well. Angel was finally on the right side.

Fred dives for the gun and points it at Jasmine as Buffy runs for Faith.

"I loved you so much." Fred cries and she fires three more shots into Jasmine before Faith and Buffy meet in the middle of the room. Her and Faith exchange blows, but Buffy feels a bit off as she lands a light punch at Faith. and Faith knocks Buffy into Fred and behind the front desk.

"We need to get you out of here." Jasmine says to Faith and she nods. Angel pads over to go and help Fred as Buffy runs up and tries to use a little blood from a cut Cordelia had on her arm to help Faith see the truth but Faith grabs Buffy by her shoulders roughly and shoves her against a bookshelf.

"You ruined everything." she growls, picking a wounded Buffy up and throwing her into Angel on the other side of the counter. Fred scrambles up and grabs Conner, Dawn and Cordelia and pulls them away from Faith.

"I don't understand. How'd it happen?" Faith questions, turning to Jasmine with her brows furrowed. Angel picks Buffy up and carries her out of the store with the others. Faith starts to follow after them but Jasmine's hand stops her.

"Let them go." she commands and Faith scowls.

"They need to be stopped." she replies and Jasmine presses a hand down on one of her gunshot wounds.

"I need your help." Jasmine says through gritted teeth and Faith nods in acceptance.

"Wow. So much blood." the man who owns the shop says surprisingly and Jasmine points toward the crimson liquid.

"Stay away from it—both of you. We need to clean this up." she tells them seriously and Faith starts to walk toward it.

"I'll do it." Faith offers and Jasmine frowns unpleasantly.

"No. Burn it to the ground." she declares and the man nods eagerly.

"OK." he agrees, grabbing one of the books on top of the stack and lighting it on fire. Jasmine and Faith turn and walk out of the shop and the man tilts his head curiously. "You want me to stay here?"

xxxxxxx

At the Hyperion the lobby is crowded with people, as usual. Lorne, Gunn, Xander, Willow and Wesley sit at a table together eating desserts and drinking fruit punch.

"As scrump-dilly-icious as these hot dishes are, they'd be a whole lot tastier if our cocoa-colored queen were here." Lorne sighs as he takes a quick bite and Gunn nods.

"I heard that. I keep shoveling pie into my hole and still feel empty." he says sadly, staring down a spoonful of pie. "Anybody else picking up on some weird hurdy-gurdy feelings?" he questions.

"I'll say that's an understatement. I'm always hungry and now that she's not here my appetite is just….gone." Xander states and Willow shakes her head. She's know Xander for a very long time.

"And that's a big deal trust me." Willow assures them all and Wesley purses his lips in thought.

"Something's definitely off, but without Jasmine around, I can't sense it specifically. You getting anything?" he wonders and Lorne smiles.

"Oh, just a visual on our lovely leader." he tells them happily as he takes a bite of his fruit cup.

"A visual? Really. Some gift you've got there, Kreskin. Where is she?" Gunn asks and Lorne smirks, pointing behind Wes, Gunn, Xander and Willow with his spoon. "Over yonder."

Wesley, Xander, Willow and Gunn whip around to look behind them. They see Jasmine walk in, wrapped in a blanket with Faith walking close to her.

"Shouldn't Angel be with them?" Willow asks before meeting the eyes of Xander, Lorne, Gunn and Wesley. They shrug before propelling themselves off their chairs and following Jasmine and Faith to the back office. When they get in Willow closes the door swiftly behind them and looks puzzledly as Jasmine stares blankly at the wall.

"I'll make this brief. Buffy and the others infected Angel. He's gone. Lost to us." Jasmine tells them bluntly and the other's jaws drop open.

"What?" Gunn asks in shock and Jasmine soothes them.

"Don't worry. I'm not so easily undone as that." Jasmine assures them, her voice thick with anger and determination. It's a foreign concept to them all.

"Any idea how she did it, how Buffy turned him?" Wesley inquires and Jasmine grits her teeth.

"Yes. My kindness turned him. By being loving to Buffy, Fred, Conner, Cordelia and Dawn, I opened the door to her hate. By trying to save them, I lost Angel. It won't happen again. We must eradicate their hate." Jasmine tells them, her jaw set and her eyes burning. Once her speech is finished she straightens up and walks out to the lobby and pointing to a biker guy, a woman and an old woman.

"You. You. And you. Come with me. Faith." Jasmine beckons as the three follow her upstairs, Faith bringing up the back.

"I can't believe little old Buffy managed to sway Angel back to the dark side." Xander says with a sigh, shaking his head. Then again he should know better. She has a way with Angel. It was only a matter of time.

"Evil. Not evil. Evil again. Wish he'd make up his mind." Gunn shrugs sadly.

"I guess the good news is it doesn't matter anymore. Jasmine says Angel has to die, he dies as well as the others." Wesley tells them and Willow nods. They all have to die. It is Jasmine's will.

xxxxxxx

Angel stares down at Buffy, who's strewn across the pavement in front of him, unconscious and bleeding. Her stab wound that Skip gave her reopened and fresh. The poison was obviously not as harmless as Buffy insisted is was. Her slayer healing should have already healed it.

Conner and Dawn are sitting a little ways farther in the alleyway holding one another close as Fred and Cordelia sit together quietly. Neither of them know what the next move is but what they do know is: Buffy needs to be okay, or else Angel may not be able to save them.

He strokes Buffy's hair gently, his eyes teary. He doesn't understand how they got here. How he had believed in what Jasmine had said. How Buffy had slept with.. with… he cant even say it. His granchilde. A sniveling man that his own childe created because the stars told her too. He had never enjoyed Spike's company. Souled or not and now when he thinks of the lanky granchilde of his, his vision goes red at the thought of his hands roaming over all the places he's denied. Touching Buffy in ways he never can.

"Angel...you OK?" Cordelia asks uneasily and Angel shrugs it off. And Cordelia… he doesn't get that either. He had thought he was in love with Cordelia back before Conner had slept with her. Now Conner's with Dawn and Angel doesn't feel that way anymore. Things have changed so fast he feels like he has whiplash, that could also be in part due to Jasmine. But there's one thing that's never changed.

"Bullet feels like a bee sting." he reasons, keeping his gaze intent on Buffy. She's the one thing that hasn't changed. His love for her has _never _changed and it never will. The entire debacle with Spike is proof of that. He still loves her. Even when she's broken, even when she's wrong. He loves her.

"That's not what we meant—" Fred starts to say but Angel shakes his head.

"I know what you meant. I don't want to talk about it." Angel replies simply. And that's the god honest truth. He doesn't want to talk about it, as if the entire emotional rollercoaster having to do with Cordy, Buffy and Conner isn't enough. He's also got this emptiness in his chest, a hole where the fabricated love for Jasmine used to be. Now all that's left is hollow, frayed and even though he doesn't want to talk about it. About any of it, he should.

"I think you do." Fred retorts as she stands, moving closer to him. She knows what he's going through. At least part of it. She still feels alone, even when she's with all of them she can still feel the ghost of emotion inside her.

"I miss her so much. I never…" he trails off. He's not just talking about Jasmine… Buffy too. He feels like he's missed so much. Maybe if he'd been there… maybe if he'd fought harder she would never have gone anywhere near Spike. She would have never died. And Jasmine would have never been brought forth.

"I know. It's been over a week, and I still cry. Part of me wishes I still believed the lie." Fred tells him somberly. But he realizes leaving Sunnydale wasn't all bad. If he hadn't came to L.A. Fred would still be in Pylea. He wouldn't know Lorne or Gunn. There are a lot of good things that came of leaving, even though everyday he missed Buffy to the point it felt like a terminal disease. One that would never go away no matter how hard he tried. No matter how distracted he gets she's always on his mind on one form or another. Now he understands why he could get over Cordelia as fast as he did. It wasn't just the looming apocalypse that propelled him out of his brooding it was the knowledge that Buffy was still out there. He still had Buffy, in some way, shape or form, he had Buffy and that's what mattered. And he wouldn't give up that feeling for the world.

Buffy suddenly stirs under his idle fingers and he watches as she rolls over and presses her fingers against her stab wound.

"Guess the poison was a little more potent than I thought." Buffy chuckles, wincing as pain shoots through her body. She looks over at the others and Angel averts his gaze from her. She can already feel the wound healing, she's sure she'll be fine in a day or two but Angel's blatant ignoring her hurts more than the hole in her gut.

"Which brings me back to Jasmine. You said we don't believe the lie anymore. Why don't we? I mean, I'm not exactly clear on—"

"Jasmine's blood. It was on the bullet that hit you." Conner explains and Angel quirks a brow as his son casually addresses him.

"Somehow it breaks her spell when it mingles with ours. I think it must've got in my system when I was trying to get the blood off her blouse." Fred expands and Angel meets all their eyes, even Buffy briefly.

"You did the right thing. It took a lot of courage. It must've been hard for you. For all of you." he says, his voice dripping with sympathy. He can imagine how they must have felt. All of them. Especially Fred, he knows now what it feels like to realize that all of it was lies. Everything Jasmine said, every word that came out of her maggoty mouth was a carefully constructed lie to tell us what they all wanted to hear.

"I was scared. I'm not like you, not a champion." Fred shrugs her voice getting choked up and Angel squints and shakes his head in denial. She is a champion, she just doesn't see it.

"Everything I see says different." he insists and Cordelia, Conner, and Dawn smile softly.

"We need more of Jasmine's blood. We have to help the others." Buffy cuts in and Conner nods in agreement.

"We'll never get close to her, not now." Fred says thoughtfully, shaking her head as she tries to come up with a solution.

"That's where we come in." Cordelia grins, pointing to herself and to Conner, who shrugs sheepishly.


	24. Chapter 23

A/N: So first off, I'm sorry if there are any mistakes in this chapter. I didn't have much time to proofread it too thoroughly, but I wanted to get a chapter up while I still have internet connection. I'm going back home on thursday so you can expect a new chapter relatively soon. Anyways, I realized I havent done this in a while but I just wanted to thank all of you for all your alerts and reviews because it really warms my heart to know people are actually enjoying what I write. So thankyou from the bottom of my heart! Enjoy and see you soon.

* * *

**Carpe Noctum**

_Chapter 23_

Buffy brings up the back of the group as they sneak toward the back of the Hyperion. She's still a little worn down after she reopened her wound but she can already feel her slayer healing kicking in and she's ready to get Willow, Xander, Wesley, Gunn and Faith free of this mess. What happens after that, she's not sure, but she needs to get them out of there. After comes well, after.

Angel and Conner boost Fred, Dawn and finally Buffy up the side of the building before climbing into the second story window themselves. Angel is the last one in, clumsily knocking down candles as he pulls himself through the window frame. Dawn and Fred wince at the noise he makes and Cordelia glares as he stands upright and puts his hands up in surrender, looking sheepishly at them.

Cordelia holds her hand out, positioning it over the bowl in Angel's hand. Buffy presses the cold blade to the middle of Cordelia's palm and she squeezes her hand so the blood will flow freely.

"Is that enough?" Fred wonders, squinting at the contents of the bowl dubiously as Cordelia pulls her hand away. The brunette narrows her eyes at the Texan native.

"I think its enough. I don't want to bled dry here people." Cordelia replies, pulling her hand away and glaring at Fred with no malice as she wraps the cut on her hand. Conner moves his hand over a second bowl and gives a good amount of blood, pulling back just as the door opens. Conner pulls Dawn into the darkest corner of the room while Cordelia, Fred, Buffy and Angel face toward the window. Angel scoots his body protectively in front of Buffy's as they hold their breath in wait, hoping the person coming in doesn't recognize them.

"Any more room at the inn?" Lorne questions cheerily, poking his head inside and noticing the candles that were knocked down by the window.

"Look at this. Pigs in paradise. Just came to check if there was an open room, someone's gonna be pretty disappointed." Lorne says shaking his head and bending down to pick up the candles off the floor.

"Hey." he says before frowning just as Angel and Buffy reveal themselves with the others. " Hey! What're you doing h— " Lorne's cries are muffled as Angel's hand covers over his mouth. "Unclean! Unclean!" he shouts against Angel's hand as Buffy moves in with the bowl of Cordelia's blood. Conner grasps Angel and Buffy's shoulder to get their attention as Fred smears blood into Lorne's cut wrist.

"I'm gonna go and sweep the hall. Keep guard outside." Conner tells them and Angel nods as Lorne struggles.

Conner marches toward the door before Dawn grabs his arm and he spins to face her.

"Be careful." she whispers and he nods before kissing her and going head on into the hallway. He rounds the corner to get a good look around when he rams right into someone. He looks up through the hair in his face to see Jasmine.

"Conner, you're here." Jasmine says sweetly and Faith appears behind her.

"Oh shit." Conner breathes as Faith grabs him roughly by the shoulders and tugs him down the hallway toward Jasmine's room.

xxxxxxx

Lorne escapes from Angel and Buffy's grasp and stumbles out into the hall as the blood starts to work through his system. The happy feeling fades and he realizes the truth as he leans up against the wall and slides down to the floor miserably. Angel and Buffy peek their heads out of the room they snuck into before walking out into the open with Dawn, Fred and Cordelia following behind them.

"You sure you can do this?" Angel questions and Lorne nods bravely, taking a sip from his flask.

"Hallelujah." he frowns, hoisting himself up.

"Where is Conner? Shouldn't he be back by now?" Dawn asks worriedly and Fred and Cordelia look up and down the hall for his figure with no such luck. Angel frowns, worry clouding his features.

xxxxxxx

"Where are the others Conner?" Jasmine questions calmly and Conner looks her in the eyes.

"I don't know." he replies, with a shrug of his shoulders and Jasmine turns to Faith.

"Get someone to sweep the hotel." she orders and Faith nods, starting toward the door when Conner forces out a chuckle.

"You're not gonna find anything." he lies and Jasmine quirks a brow.

"You're saying they're not here with you?" she wonders curiously and Conner comes up with a plan.

"I came alone." he says quietly and Faith snorts. Who in their right mind would believe that?

"Why do I find that hard to believe." the slayer prompts.

"It's the truth." he says hardly, leveling his gaze with hers.

"Buffy isn't the kind to give up." Faith counters and Conner digs deep to keep his façade. He knows Buffy never gives up, its part of what makes her a great slayer.

"Yeah well I don't know about that." Conner sighs convincingly.

"Oh what did B suddenly get a personality transplant?" Faith asks sarcastically and Conner frowns. Faith falter for a minute. Could Buffy have really given up?

"No."

"Then what Conner?" Jasmine inquires.

"They left." Conner lets out.

"Left?" Faith asks perplexedly. Buffy Summers, slayer extraordinaire… left?

"Town…" Conner pauses, hoping to god his lie will work. "…without me." he adds quietly, directing his gaze downward. He really has to sell it.

"Typical Buffy." Faith snorts, shaking her head and smiling humorlessly. "The going gets rough… B get's going, doesn't care if anyone's left behind as long as its not her precious Angel."

"Do you know where they're going?" Jasmine asks kindly and Conner looks up, attempting to infuse as much truth as he can into his eyes.

"No." he tells her and Jasmine nods, seeming to take his answer .

"We have to find them." Faith insists, preparing to go charging after Buffy and her band of merry followers the instant Jasmine gives the okay

"And my followers will." Jasmine assures Faith and the slayer nods. She may want to track Buffy down herself but if Jasmine has other plans then Faith is ready to do what needs to be done. "We need to get them here together. Let no one escape our grasp."

"What so you can kill us?" Conner retorts bitingly, his eyes narrowed and his mouth set firmly.

"I could never hurt Cordelia Chase any more than I could you. You're my parents, my tether to this world. It was your love that brought me here." Jasmine says softly and Conner glares.

"Well I wish my hate could send you back." he replies coldly and she shakes her head with a tentative smile on her face.

"It doesn't work like that Conner."

"Well I wish it did."

"Faith, they're waiting put Conner in the basement."

"Got it."

xxxxxxx

"Hey, I'm praisin' Jasmine. How 'bout you?" Lorne says, feigning happiness.

"Yeah." a woman replies as Lorne walks past.

"Tonight, the role of Judas Iscariot will be played by Krevlorneswath of the Deathwok Clan." Lorne whispers to himself before smiling fakely at the people passing by. "Hey, feeling the love, huh? Thank you, Jasmine. Feeling the love."

Lorne claps his hands together as Wesley, Gunn, Xander and Willow look up from the chairs they're stacking.

"Hey, good news, my devoted darlings. Jasmine's pulling you out of stacking duty and wants to see us ASAP for a little TLC." the green horned demon says cheerfully.

"Really? I haven't sensed anything. Have you?" Wesley questions turning toward Gunn, Xander and willow.

"No. And everything else has been feeling pretty clear." Gunn replies shrugging and Xander's brows furrow at Lorne.

"Are you sure our mighty leader actually needs us?" Xander wonders and Lorne nods vigorously.

"Tout de suite, mes amis." Lorne says, grabbing a chair. Willow tilts her head sideways as she catches sight of Lorne's bandaged wrist.

"What happened to you?" she asks in concern and Lorne's eyes widen as he shrugs.

"What do you mean?" he stutters nervously.

"Your wrist. You've cut it." Wesley observes and Lorne chuckles.

"Oh, that's is— That's a long, boring story." he tells them, waving toward the stairs. "Come on."

Willow, Gunn, Wesley and Xander follow obediently behind Lorne as he leads them to the room where Dawn, Angel, Fred, Buffy and Cordelia lie in wait. He opens the door for them, picking up a baseball bat and wielding it as Willow, Gunn and Xander make their way inside and knocking each of them.

As soon as they're all down, Angel and Buffy make a cut while Dawn and Fred swab Cordelia's blood over them.

xxxxxxx

"How did you figure it out?" Wesley asks as he and the others look forlornly at the floor. He can't believe it. That everything they were feeling wasn't real.

"It was Buffy. She figured since Cordy gave birth to Jasmine, they might share a blood link as well as a mystical one." Fred explains as she sits next to Wesley and shifts uncomfortably. She doesn't know how to be around him yet, she wants to just crawl up in his lap but there is so many things that haven't been addressed.

"We hoped Cordy's blood would have the same effect when we exposed you to it." Angel tells them.

"Thanks for nothing." Gunn grumbles, putting his head in his hands.

"Yeah, you slashed this wrist, and I'm ready to do the other one myself." Lorne replies, shaking his head and desperately craving a drink.

"Everything we believed...deception." Wesley breathes.

"And how do we convince several million other people that Jasmine's message is false?" Willow prompts probingly. Is there even a way to do it?

"It's impossible. Even if we're able to develop a synthetic analog to the blood, there's—I mean, how do we fight something this huge and powerful?" Fred asks discouragingly. She doesn't see how this can end up good in any way.

"I don't know yet, but what I do know is I'm not leaving this hotel without my son or Faith." Angel declares, standing his ground.

"I'll get Conner." Wesley offers, standing up and straightening up. "I've kidnapped him before."

"And Faith?" Fred prompts and Gunn steps up.

"Guess that's up to me." he says and Buffy's brows furrow.

"How do you figure?" Xander asks and Gunn shrugs easily.

"Anyone else gonna do it?" he questions searchingly and everyone exchanges a glance. He figures he's one of the only ones who can get

Faith out of the group anyway besides Willow, Lorne and Xan,.

Lorne already got him and the others, plus he feels kind of responsible for Faith. He cares about her and he wants her back on their side. So if anyone's going to get her it'll be him. "Okay then I'll go get her."

Gunn makes his way down the hallway with Wesley before they both split off in different directions. Wes toward Jasmine's room and Gunn toward the lobby in search of Faith.

"Hey Gunn." Faith says as Gunn finds her in the lobby. Gunn plasters on a smile. Its not that hard they may be in a killer situation right now but Faith is still Faith and he still wants her just as much as he wanted her before and its sad that he needed an apocalypse to show him that.

"Faith, I want to talk to you." Gunn whispers and she runs a hand over his chest slowly.

"Oh do you now?" Faith questions, her brows quirking as she smiles at him. She's been waiting for him to make a move.

"Yeah, let's go upstairs. There's a free room." he tells her seductively and she wraps her arm around his and follows him up the stairs. She stops him right outside the door and pulls him into a deep kiss. He runs his hands through her hair and relishes the taste of her. But when he sees Wesley, frowning empty handed at the end of the hallway over Faith's shoulder, he pulls away and takes Faith's hand to lead her into the room.

"Alright I'm yours for the taking." Faith drawls at Gunn, running her fingers over his shoulders until she looks up and sees Buffy, Fred, Dawn and Angel. "Hey!" Faith shouts as Angel grabs her arms and Wesley walks in, shutting the door behind him. "No!"

"It's gonna be OK." Angel tells her as she struggles in his arms. She wont let them turn her to. "Conner?"

"Couldn't find him. He wasn't in Jasmine's room." Wesley tells them and Fred moves to Wes's side.

"I knew he was lying." Faith mumbles as she continues to attempt to break free.

"You've been lied to. We all have." Fred tries to tell Faith but she only struggles more as Buffy helps Angel keep her steady.

"Don't make this any harder." Angel advises but Faith growls.

"Let go." Faith scowls as Gunn approaches her, trying to cut her arm and smear the blood into it but as soon as he gets close enough she kicks him backward.

"Easy." Angel says and Faith grits her teeth and growls.

"Don't." Faith screams, turning her head toward Buffy and Angel. "I'll kill you both."

"It'll pass." Buffy promises and Angel nods in agreement.

"Right, 'cause Lord knows she's never tried that before." Lorne quips and Xander chuckles while nodding in agreement. Faith breaks away from Angel and Buffy, punching Buffy in the process and sending her sprawling into Angel. They both topple to the ground as Faith runs toward the door.

"They're here! Come quick! They're here." Faith yells into the hallway as Buffy goes to remove herself off of Angel's chest. They both hesitate for a moment before Buffy rolls off and they both get to their feet.

"Faith, you have to listen to us." Buffy tries to reason and Faith glares at her.

"Listen to you? You're the ones who lie. You're the ones who _hate_." Faith says angrily. She won't believe a word they say. Not now, not ever. Jasmine is the way.

"No, Faith—" Buffy pleads. She has to get Faith to understand. She doesn't know what she's doing.

"Jasmine's controlling you, controlling your feelings." Fred tries to tell her but Faith shakes her head refusing to believe it. There's no way that's true.

"You're wrong. About me, about her, everything." she insists, watching them with indignant eyes. "It doesn't matter anymore what you say." she says, looking down the hall and smirking at the approaching mob. "We're gonna tear you apart."

Angel lunges at the door before Faith even has the chance to blink, slamming it shut, locking Faith and the approaching mob outside. He leans against the door, pushing on it with all the strength he can muster. Willow and Xander grab Dawn and drag her away from the door as Lorne Wesley, and Willow start to retreat into the depths of the room.

"Run! Get the car! Get out of here. I'll hold her off. Someone who knows the truth has to live through this." Angel shouts as Faith thumps up against the door, trying to get in. Everyone stops. No one wants to leave Angel behind. Fred and Wesley pause at the window with Lorne and Cordelia.

"Go!" Angel yells, pointing toward the window. Wesley nods in understanding before taking Fred's hand and prying open the window.

"Come on." Wesley says, ushering Fred, Dawn, Cordelia, Willow, Gunn and Xander out the window. Angel keeps trying to keep Faith out as Wesley turns to Buffy. She shakes her head and Wes nods before ducking out the window and making his way with the others to get the car.

"Buffy what are you still doing here?" Angel demands harshly as she rushes over and pushes on the door with him.

"I'm not leaving you." she says fiercely as she leans against the door. Angel stares at Buffy as Faith beats on the door from the other side, his brows furrowed. He can almost feel his skin humming with her closeness as he gets lost in her hazel eyes. She seems to have that effect on him, no matter what the circumstances. Which is why she has to go. She's too important to him to die now, ever.

"Buffy, go!" Angel growls and she shakes her head resolutely. There is no way she's leaving him behind. She cares about him way too much to let him sacrifice himself. He could hate her for the rest of his unlife it'll never stop her from caring about him.

"I'm finally part of something! I belong! I won't let anyone ruin that!" Faith screams, banging on the door ferociously. Buffy scrunches up her face in concentration before she sends her fist crashing through the door and grabs Faith. This is the only choice she has.

"I know." Buffy replies sympathetically as she busts through the door and into the hallway. She can't let Faith hurt anyone. She wants to get along with her. They were doing so well before but then Jasmine came along and propelled them on opposite sides again. Buffy takes a deep gulp before bringing her fists down on Faith's face and pummeling her to the ground. She's doing what she has to, that doesn't mean she has to like it.

She's using the same amount of force she used one time before on Faith, the time she almost killed her to save Angel. She keeps hitting and punching and kicking until Angel rips her off of Faith and starts to pull her back. The mob of people rip wooden shards of the door and hold them up to Angel as he releases Buffy. She positions herself in front of him as Faith stumbles to her feet and goes after Buffy again.


	25. Chapter 24

A/N: Soo sorry guys for the late update. I've been kind of busy lately with getting ready for school. I start next week but I turned on the tv this morning and Angel came on plus I found this quote by David Boreanaz that really inspired me to come and give you guys an update. Just incase you're curious abotu the quote, here it is. "I never did understand the whole Cordy/Angel thing... In my mind Angel's heart would have always stayed with Buffy!" And I have to agree. So, I hope you like it, its pretty long, think of it as a gift from me to you for the long wait. Anyway, all typos are mine. Enjoy and remember your opinions and ideas are greatly appreciated so don't forget to leave a review! By the way, sorry for the repost but I updated the chapter a bit, I'm sorry but I was in a rush to update and uploaded the rough draft file so here it is: The Official CHAPTER 24 !

* * *

**Carpe Noctum**

_Chapter 24_

Xander pulls the car out back under the window they came from and screeches to a halt with Fred, Dawn, Xander, Cordelia, Willow, Gunn, and Lorne in the car with him. They're listening to the sounds of the fight upstairs and worrying about what they should do next.

"This is all wrong." Xander says, shaking his head as he grips the wheel with a steel grip. "There has to be a way we could—"

"We could cut the power, create a diversion." Gunn proposes, trying to come up with a plan.

"We could do that." Fred agrees, visibly brightening at the sound of an actual plan.

"No, she has hundreds of followers in there all acting with a single, focused will. We can't risk going against that. Not now. Someone—" Wesley stops abruptly as Faith lands on the hood of the car, face down. Buffy lands on the hood of the car on her feet with Angel jumping down beside her and pulling Faith's body off the hood and over to the side of the car. Angel and Buffy try to pull her in when Jasmine rounds the corner with her followers running after them. Angel and Buffy share a reluctant look, a lot more than just the decision there abotu to make passing through their eyes, before letting go of Faith and jumping in the car together, Angel in the front seat beside Fred and Buffy in the back beside Dawn.

"Drive." Buffy says hardly and the others look to her and Angel with confusion.

"Buffy—" Gunn starts to say, disbelieving at Buffy's hardass determined demeanor. They cant leave Faith there. She needs them.

"What about Faith and Conner?" Willow questions and Dawn grabs her sisters arm as she looks to Angel.

"We can't just leave him, he's your—" Dawn tries to tell him. Conner is his _son_. How can he just leave him like this? How can Buffy agree to it?

"And Faith is—" Wesley looks to Gunn who is looking at Faith's body on the pavement sadly as Xander starts to put Angel's car into gear hesitantly. They can't leave her there. Maybe they can pick her up and give her some of Cordy's blood later? Gunn doesn't know exactly what they should do, only that Faith belongs with them not the ex god on a psycho power trip.

"I know what they are. Xander, drive." Angel commands, watching Buffy stare blankly ahead. Wesley goes to protest one more time when he sees Jasmine and her group of followers getting way too close for his comfort. Xander throws the car into drive and speeds off into the night.

Eventually, after a fair amount of driving Fred turns the radio on in the front hoping to maybe lift everyone's spirits but is sadly mistaken when the radio announcer's voice drifts through the speakers.

"_And in an impromptu speech today, the mayor—I really love that guy, don't you?— The mayor declared Los Angeles the first "Citadel of Jasmine," a cradle of civilization which will usher in a new age for all of humanity. In related news, the L.A. Archdiocese has stated to the press that it will remove all false idols from its churches, replacing them with images of she who walks among us. Way to go, Catholic Church. Yes, it's a great day to be alive_."

"Well, talk about media bias. Well, not that I wanna talk about media bias. It seems rather moot right now. Speakin' of moot, what about us? Anyone else feel like the last feisty wife in Stepford?" Lorne rambles nervously. So he's talking a lot, so what? It's only making up for the fact that everyone else is silent. It's easy to tell how upset the others are. They wear it plain on their faces, he doesn't need his gift to figure out that everyone of them: Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Gunn and Dawn feel as hopeless as he does right about now. And he may not have his mojo back yet but even he knows that something isn't right with the dynamic duo Buffy and Angel, though they try their best to mask their pain and grief behind determination, duty and redemption for past transgressions. He knows them well. What can he say? He's a people perosn.

"What are we gonna do? What can we do?" Fred questions, her eyes downcast. Is there even anything left to do? She isn't even sure anymore. Everything seems so grim.

"There has to be an answer." Wesley insists, his eyes filled with determination. Fred sees the resolve in his eyes and feels herself relax ever so slightly. When a man like Wesley puts his heart into something, it gets done and Fred thinks maybe, just maybe things might work out.

"There has to be a way. We just need time." Angel tells them and ironically the time theory applies to him and Buffy too. They just need time and then maybe everything will be okay. Maybe they'll be able to fix this rift that seems to be growing between them, but right now isn't the time to be focused on the broken remnants of their relationship.

"To hell with that. We need a damn break. But the universe don't seem to be handing breaks out to the underdog lately. No leads, no database, no weapons, no shelter." Gunn rambles, clenching his fist and slamming it on the arm rest on his right. It doesn't help the fact that every thought he has seems to include Faith, which winds up leading to how they left her behind.. on her own.. with the bitch ascended from some type of higher level of hell.

"Not to mention very little gas." Xander adds and Willow sighs heavily. She can't help but think about how right Gunn is. There just seem to be no breaks for them lately, not from the powers that be, from anyone really. And a breka would be really, really, nice right about now.

"We should've taken Faith with us. She looked so— What if she doesn't wake up…again?" Willow asks and Buffy looks away, ignoring Willow as best she can. Angel can hear her heart beat pick up and he can practically see the pain in her eyes. He's always been able to do that, see right through the front she puts up and sometimes Buffy finds herself hating that about him. Everything she is, all her mistakes, everything in her is laid out and waiting for Angel to see and she doesn't like being that vulnerable.

"What if we took her and she did?" Angel defends and the others nod feebly in agreement. Dawn isn't very sure how she feels about Faith, she's upset they had to leave her behind. She was just starting to like the other slayer but her main concern is Conner and how Angel could just leave him behind like that. She just doesn't understand.

And as if on cue Angel's mind flashes to his son and the ordeal he could be possibly going through because of his father's lack of intervention and rescue. It's all his fault, it's always his fault.

xxxxxxx

Faith finally breaks through the haze that's been pushing down on her for the longest time. Every inch of her aches and memories of Buffy beating her to pulp surface causing her to groan inwardly. Her eyes open just in time to see the last of all the people who are undressed and bathed in a green glow as Jasmine finishes them.

"Faith, you're awake." Jasmine smiles wide and Faith smiles back weakly from her spot on her chair, where she lies limp and beaten. She still can't believe Buffy got the best of her. The humiliation hurts almost as much as the actual physical pain. Almost. But Jasmine is just…

"You're... indescribable." Faith breathes and Jasmine nods, bending down and reaching out to touch her.

"I know." she tells Faith, as the green light washes over her and Faith feels as if all her wounds were magically lifted. Her eyebrows shove together as she touches her face and sits up. She wants to be surprised but she's learned to expect the wonderfully unexpected from Jasmine. Its just the way she is.

"They tried to turn me against you." Faith says, sittign back casually in her chair. Jasmine shrugs turning toward Faith and smiling.

"The hateful always have one or two wretched tricks to play." she explains as Faith moves to get up. Jasmine lays a gentle hand on Faith's shoudler, pushing her back. "You must rest now. We have nothing to fear from them. They are alone, we are many."

"But Gunn and—and Wesley and Xander and Willow and Lorne... They've all been turned. We have to stop whatever they're—" Faith starts to go off on a tangent of worry. How can they possible track all of them now that they've gone over to the other side?

"We will. Faith...there's nothing they can do. Every moment that passes I grow closer to my followers. I feel what they feel, I see what they see. We're fusing together like the cells of a single body. They're my eyes, my skin, my limbs, and, if need be, my fists." Jasmine explains smugly, smiling as the realization hits Faith. They've got no where to run.

xxxxxxx

Xander takes a long look around as he pulls into yet another gas station for the fourth time in the past hour. The Scooby/Fang gang are running low on gas and if they want to make it out of L.A. then they kind of need it.

"Oh, I don't know, kids. That's a whole lot of pod people." Lorne says uneasily as Xander pulls the car to a temporary stop, sitting idly and looking for a place to park or grab gas from.

"Well, it's better than the last three places. We won't make it out of the city without any gas. Not to mention am altered driver because I'm beat." Xander tells them, scanning the place. He looks over at Buffy, she hasn't spoken the entire ride but her eyes are peeled for any immediate threat. He always knew she could compartmentalize, its one of the things that makes her such a great slayer. Her emotion also makes her a great slayer but right now he knows she's hurting and he hates to see her hurt.

He's seen so much of the pain her calling has caused her and right now she seems on edge again, like she was when she shot up those freaky drugs. But somehow at the same time he knows she'll be okay because she's strong, stronger than anyone here knows. Maybe even stronger than Angel knows. All he wants is for Buffy to be okay and if her and Angel making up and getting back together is what it takes then he's willing to accept Angel back. Well he never really accepted Angel in the first place but he's willing to put up with and be civil toward him. If it makes Buffy happy again, he'll do it.

And Willow cant help but feel the same way. While she never truly held a grudge against Angel for leaving or Angelus she's always wary of the days that Angel comes around only looking to stay for a day or two to visit because he would be there for the big happy and her and Xander would be the ones left when Angel was gone and she would see the way every impromptu visit Angel drained a little out of her best friend. And so yes Willow did get a little angry every time Angel visited but she never held a grudge against him. Angel is just too kindhearted for grudges. Not that that ever stopped Xander. The thing is Willow isn't a grudge girl, unless you count the time she killed Warren because he killed Tara. That kind of counts as a major grudge but other than that? No grudges.

"So that's our big plan? Just keep runnin'?" Gunn says, interrupting Willow and Xander's musings.

"I hear good things about Belize." Lorne suggests, shrugging.

"If we could get out of the sphere of Jasmine's influence, we might be able to warn people, prepare some form of resistance." Wesley says hopefully. He knows it's a long shot, but they need some kind of goal to keep going, to keep moving forward or else there will be no hope.

"Look at 'em. They're all so happy." Fred grimaces as a shiver travels up her spine. It gives her the creeps to see everyone walking around, being controlled and smiley and happy… all the time.

"Yeah, they'll be happier when they're gouging out our eyes and stompin' us 'til their shoes get sticky." Willow quips gravelly. What? Its not like its not true.

"That's why we have to do this fast." Angel advises and Dawn squeezes the battle ax in her hand.

"Fast works for me." Dawn almost growls and Buffy stares unseeing out in the vast dark as Angel furrows his brows at the fifteen year old sitting next to her.

"Dawn, they're just under her spell. All right? But if it does come down to a choice between us or them—" Angel is cut off by Gunn who stares at Angel with understanding shining in his eyes.

"Believe me, I'm there. I think we're _all _there." he replies, his eyes quickly skirting to Buffy before he pulls them away and sets them on the perimeter. He's gotta focus on the now and not on the broken girl lying on the pavement miles away from there. AS a man pre-pays for his gasoline at the pump and turns to put the nozzle in his SUV, Gunn moves in and knocks him out, taking the nozzle from the man.

"Sorry, bro. It's for your own good." Gunn shrugs as he waves Wesley over and he backs the car up to the pump. Gunn looks at all the people staring at them, watching them fill up their tank and he addresses them. "That's right. It's the big, bad free will gang, gassin' up!"

"All right, stay back. We don't wanna hurt anybody." Angel says carefully as he and Buffy step out of the car. He still avoids her gaze, because while he knows he loves her and still doesn't know how to be around her. Not knowing that her and Spike…

"But you are hurting them, Angel, just by being." a man says in Jasmine's voice and Buffy tilts her head in confusion.

"Ok. That's new." Angel observes and Buffy looks at the man in shock.

"People are doing that? Why are people doing that?" Buffy shrieks and Angel shrugs.

"Its their connection with Jasmine. It's gotten stronger." Wesley provides and Buffy shakes her head. She wishes the connection would get less strong, that would be helpful. She also wishes Angel would look at her for more than two seconds.

"You're a disease in the body Jasmine, and you'll be purged." another man says, his voice again sounding eerily like Jasmine's. The man storms toward Angel trying to punch him, but Buffy easily disarms him, knocking him out with one swing.

"Soccer mom, 12 o'clock!" Lorne warns Wesley as a woman swings a huge wrench from behind. He punches the woman and she fall unceremoniously to the cold, hard ground. A man dressed in camouflage breaks a beer bottle before charging toward Dawn.

"You can't outrun my love. It has wings made of radio—" the camouflaged man says again in Jasmine's voice as he jabs his broken bottle at Dawn. Fred appears and knocks him out.

By the car an SUV pulls up behind Gunn and Xander. The window rolls down and a little girl in the back seat speaks to them.

"My love sings over the wires that bind this world." Jasmine says through the little girl's body and Gunn quirks a brow and gets shivers down his spine. It just ain't right is what it is.

"Ok, gettin' a little creepy." he says as Willow shows up at his side.

"You think?" Xander retorts as Angel and Buffy fight back to back. It's easy to slip back into this, into their way even when they're at odds with one another they just have this attraction, this gravity and they know each other's moves and motions. It's like second nature for them.

"The city is mine, vampire. All the tools are mine." Jasmine says though a man, who walk purposefully toward Buffy and Angel, wielding a metal wrench in his hand.

"Yeah, we're workin' on that." Angel promises, pulling open the car door for Buffy. She hops in and he follows behind her. "Ok. Pit stop's over. Let's go." Buffy shouts and Wesley, Cordelia Dawn, Xander, Willow, Lorne, and Gunn leave their positions and get in.

"Wait, no snacks? I thought snacks…" Xander mumbles, hangign his head sadly at the prospects of no salty goodness or sweet creamy filling. Willow purses her lips and pats him reassuringly.

Wes puts the car in gear and drives out of the parking lot just as the man with the wrench reaches the car. The man rolls off of the hood of the car and falls to the ground as they drive off, their tires screeching as they haul ass away from the gas station.

They're on the road for a good few minutes when two police cars pick up their trail and start tailing them, their sirens blaring as they chase after the gang. follow them with sirens blaring.

"Man, never seen so many cruisers." Gunn says, his eyes wide as he looks over his shoulder. Wesley has lost the police cruisers but there very close to catching up.

"Not even on TV." Dawn admits, still thinking about all the red and blue lights flashing everywhere.

"Technically, we're the only criminals left." Wesley explains and Cordelia runs a hand over her face with frustration.

"Well isn't that just awesome?" she says sarcastically, groaning. They can never catch a break, like ever. Since when did the good guys get to be the fugitives? They were trying to help these people and they're just trying to run 'em down like its nothing.

"There's no way we're drivin' out of this. It's time we disappeared." Angel advises as he meets the other's gazes. And so its decided. They drive into the mouth of an old alleyway, leaving behind Angel's car and going underground on foot. Something not everyone is exactly pleased with. But its also them oment Angel decides to get his head in the game. He can't be worrying about Buffy or Conner if he wants to keep them all alive and survive. His heart cannot be factored into their escape, because all hearts do is get in the way. THey always have and they always will.

Buffy and Angel are ahead of the group as they swash through the mucky sewer water and keep pushing forward. Both of them refuse to acknowledge the other and Angel keeps getting broodeir by the minute.

"Yeah, I'm movin', Angel cakes. Might not look like it, but inside, where it counts, I'm runnin'. Full speed ahead, believe me." Lorne tries to tell Angel, who's scowling at anything in his direct line of sight. The others are slowing their progress down. They need to get as far away as possible as fast as possible. Is that so hard?

"It won't take them long to figure out— " Angel stops, looking back at Lorne, Wesley, Xander, Willow, Dawn and Fred who are all completely exhausted and fighting for their breath. "One minute." he allots and they all let out a strangled sigh of relief. Buffy rubs Dawn's back as she coughs to catch her breath. She's all for the quick getaway but Angel is going too far. The others are only human, they're not like her or even Angel. First off they need to breath, second, they don't slay vamps every night so their endurance isn't exactly up to par with theirs.

"I doubt anyone under her control knows these tunnels better than you." Fred reassures Angel and he nods thoughtfully.

"Yeah, it should buy us some time." he says absently as he looks around searchingly, already itching to get moving again.

"Time to do what? Get all stanky and starve to death? I mean, what are we doin'?" Gunn questions seriously.

"I'm gonna have to agree with Gunn on this one. What's the plan? Are we going in guns a blazin' or what?" Xander inquires and Angel's jaw clenches. He knows he's not the only one who wants to know what to do next. But he doesn't have all the answers here and neither does Buffy so they're just going to have to deal with it.

"You know what? I don't know what we're gonna do. I don't have a plan. Now, I guess this whole Jasmine world order thing kind of took me by surprise." Angel snaps harshly and Willow, Fred and Dawn cluster together unsure of whether or not they should get involved. Cordelia rolling her eyes off to the side, she thought they'd be over being immature and fighting with each other over things out of their control.

"It took us all by surprise." Buffy intervenes firmly as Gunn and Angel glare at each other. She understands what's got Angel so on edge. They have no idea what they're supposed to do next and she feels the pressure bearing down on her just like it is on Angel. Its up to them to come up with a solution, they're the supernatural ones. The ones who are supposed to have all the answers. But she gets where Gunn and Xander and the rest of them are coming from too. They all want this to be easy, to be over. But that just isn't going to happen any time soon, not the way things are looking now.

"Well, I ain't eatin' no rats." Gunn insists bitingly and Angel nods immediately in response.

"Good. Neither am I." Angel retorts, his brows knitted together in annoyance. Gunn thinks it's easy, thinks everything is supposed to just be okay. That's not how it works. They've got a lot of hard times up ahead. They have to figure out a way to stop Jasmine and Angel has no idea how to do it. He knows the rats thing was a jab at him and he doesn't appreciate Gunn and his remarks at the moment but he's too mature to let it get to him.

He almost looks toward Buffy, almost. She knows he ate rats back when he first got his soul. Its still eats away at him inside that she saw him like that.

"All right, then, plan's comin' together." Gunn counters proactively, hitching his weapon up his arm and Angel scowls.

"Glad to see you're on board." he replies, keeping his gaze level with Gunn. Matureness? Out the window. Its no secret that he and Gun didn't get along in the very beginning and this is why. Because Gunn is an action man and despite having a soul now, Angel has always been a planner. He feels better knowing what he's getting into beforehand, though that's never stopped him from jumping in at a later date before. Being action guy isn't always bad, but right now? Isn't one of those times.

"Oh, god. Dawnie I cant believe I forgot about you and—" Fred puts a hand to her mouth as Willow stops speaking abruptly and they all remembers Conner. Not only is he Angel's son and part of their weird dysfunctional family, Dawn and Conner have been… coupely together. It must be so hard for her. Fred remembers how it felt not having Wes with her, even though neither of them are sure where they stand with the other. Fred looks up and swaps glances with Wesley, his eyes penetrating her with concern and all she wants to do is run into his arms and forget about everything. About being o nthe run and Jasmine.

"Conner." Cordelia finishes for Fred and Dawn rubs her arm absently before looking the opposite way. She's so worried, its hard to think about what they could be doing to him, if he's even still alive. She thinks that if Jasmine did kill him she would know, somehow. Or she hopes.

"I can't believe I almost forgot." Buffy says apologetically and Dawn looks up at her sister, with tears in her eyes. Buffy knows what's its like, to worry about someone you love, and wonder whether they're safe and okay. She's done it more than a thousand times over Angel. Even when they were apart, she always worried and hoped he was okay… dealing with whatever he was dealing with in L.A. So she gets it.

"Do it. Forget about him and Faith. We all have to now. We don't have a choice." Angel grumbles grouchily, before facing forward and starting to walk. He knoiws Buffy's probably annoyed, she does pretty much everything with her heart but now just isn't the time for hearts. "Minute's up."

Lorne and Fred huff loudly as Wes and Gunn keep quiet and trudge onward, Wesley sticking a little closer to Fred. Angel continues to lead the others through the sewers for a while, while Lorne, Willow, Dawn and Fred lag behind. Walking quietly with one another.

"You look a little down, sugarplum. Is it Conner?" Lorne questions with concern. He knows she must be having such a hard time… Dawnie? Another one of those open books, the worry is so plain on her face, Lorne's worried she may have an anxiety attack.

"I can't. I don't care what he says." Dawn mumbles and Lorne reaches over and wraps a comforting arm around her while Dawn's words play on repeat in Buffy's brain. She can't either. She doesn't care what Angel says, what he does, how angry with her he is. She loves him, no matter what, through it all... she loves him.

"I know, kitten. It's strange, but under that blood-feeding creature of the night facade, he seems a bit heartless lately." Lorne reasons and Buffy can't help but duck her head. She's at least part of the reason he's acting this way and she can't help but feel a little bit guilty.

"Hearts get in the way." Angel grunts gruffly and Buffy holds back a defeated sigh. Okay, maybe a lot guilty.

"Hearing as good as ever, though, boss!" Lorne chuckles and Angel stares straight ahead as he replies, his voice even, carefully keeping every emotion racing through him at bay.

"If we don't gut ourselves and burn out everything inside that gave her power over us, then we're lost." Angel says as he scowls at the pathway in front of him. Buffy's eyes widen as she reads into a double meaning. Was he really that angry? Would he really just forget her and pretend she didn't exist? Like they meant nothing to each other?

"I hate to say it, Dr. Pep, but I've been lost for, like, 2 hours." Lorne retorts sarcastically and Wesley speaks up to cut the tension.

"Still, I miss her. I miss the warmth and the knowing what's right and that you're doing it just by loving her." Wes says almost wistfully. Just thinking of how it felt, brings forth the moments that felt like everything was right in the world or at least would be one day. He knows there is never a guarentee, ugly things happen everyday and they can't stop every nasty thing that preys in the dark or even walks it the light. Gunn shakes his head.

"Tough drug to kick cold turkey." he adds lamely and Willow nods vigorously in agreement. She understands completely. More than any of them ever could.

"It is, really. And trust me I know what that's like." Willow squeaks and Xander shoots her a sympathetic/supporting look. He knows she's had to deal with this before.

"I remember the first time she took me aside at that fight at the bowling alley. Me, pale, frail Winfred Burkle, sitting with a goddess, and she was asking me what her name should be." Fred says nostalgically and Wesley scratches his chin in thought.

"Seems strange now. A being of her immeasurable age. You think she'd already have a name." he muses. It doesn't make sense for someone as powerful as she to not already have a name and use it. Xander simply shrugs.

"Well, maybe it was embarrassing, like Hester or Peanut." he reasons and Cordelia bites her lip. She feels the warm fuzzy feeling building in her chest all over again. She forgot how dopey and cute he could be. Gunn nods his head in agreement with Xan and Cordelia takes the oppurtunity to scoot closer to him. It makes some kind of sense. Buffy ponders that for a moment just before her and Angel fall through a hole in the sewer floor. Buffy manages to grab on to the edge of the gaping hole, hanging by a pipe so she doesn't fall to the bottom.

"Angel!" Fred shouts as she, Gunn, and Cordelia watch it unfold in front of them.

"Buffy!" Xander, Willow and Dawn exclaim as Wesley reaches out for Buffy's hand to help her up.

"I got you." he tells her as he pulls her upward, right before a gang of teenagers surprise them. Wesley keeps a firm hold on Buffy, pulling her up the rest of the way as the kids catch them off guard and point wooden poles at each of them.

"Buffy?" Angel calls out from the bottom of the darkness and Buffy brushes her pants off and scowls at the dirt on her pants. Evil dirt.

"I'm all right." she replies absently as she squints her eyes at the group with annoyance.

"No. You're not all right till I say you're all right. Holly, you good?" the young guy asks and Buffy puts her hands on her hips defiantely.

"Yep." the girl replies quickly and the young guy nods toward Lorne.

"Trip. That ugly-ass beastie so much as breathes wrong, you stick him." the guy says harshly and Lorne scowls. He may be green but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a feeling or two.

"Ugly ass—hey!" he exclaims, his brows furrowing in dislike. He doesn't appreciate the name calling... at all.

"You know, I kind of have a thing about people pointing sharp wooden—" Angel shakes his head before jumping upward and snatching the pole out of some kid's grip in one quick, swift movement. "Gimme that."

Buffy spins around and knocks down the young girl as quick and carefully as possible, while Gunn and the young man trade blows. The rest of the group takes on who they can, Dawn letting out her pent up anger on her opponent and Xander doing his best to do all the work for Cordy until Angel finally puts his hand up to stop them.

"Enough! Enough." Angel says, before turning to the kid he knocked over. "You ok?" he asks, reaching down to help they boy to his feet.

"Yeah." the boy replies quietly as he stands and picks up his weapon, holding it loosely in his grasp.

"It's ok. They're not under her power." Buffy assures the others as she finishes observing them and Fred looks dubiously among them. How can they be completely sure?

"Her who?" the young man who was fighting Gunn questions and Gunn scowls unpleasantly at the guy pushing him back gainst the wall roughly.

"We'll ask the questions." Gunn replies, his eyes narrowed.

"Buffy, are you certain?" Wesley wonders, also unsure on whether or not to believe them. They can never be too careful. One mistake can prove fatal to any one of them and he's simply not sure he wants to take that kind of chance.

"Well, they're not exactly fighting like a well-oiled, mind-controlled army of love, are they?" Buffy counters and Wesley nods in agreement. She has a point. He looks to Angel to get his opinion but the vampire is silent, opting apparently to stay that way for the time being.

"Hell, no. More like a bunch of little punks." Gunn answers fiercely, pressing his arm up against his opponents chest.

"Punks?" the young man scoffs indignantly, rolling his eyes and wiggling under Gunn's arm, trying to get out of his grasp. Gunn pushes harder.

"Gunn, let him go." Angel says and Gunn backs off willingly.

"Gunn? Charles Gunn." the young man asks curiously and Cordelia and the others watch as Gunn pulls the tough guy routine. The same one he used when he first met Cordelia and Angel. It seems like the persona he can play well.

"I say you could use my name?" he questions and the man presses his lips together and shakes his head.

"I say you could use my ride without payin' the piper?" the young guy counters and Gunn's brows furrow as he tries to figure out what he's saying.

"What? Payin' the— Tommy Golden's little brother? Randall?" Gunn says, realizing who he is and chuckling at a distant memory forming. "Little ass Randall Golden, man. This punk stole my car when he was 12 years old."

"What are you doin' down here, man?" Golden asks and Gunn shrugs, slinging the weapon he swiped from Golden over his shoulder casually.

"Like I said, son, we'll ask the questions." he replies, as an eerie noise sounds across the sewer. "Startin' with what the hell was that?"

"It's back." the young boy says gravely and him and the two others start toward the other end of the tunnel.

"Come on." Golden says, before disappearing into the dark.

Buffy and Angel exchange a long look before leading the others to follow after them. Everyone is quiet as they follow the group of kids back to their grated off alcove in the depths of the sewers, not even exchanging so much as a word.

"Wow. Really like what you've done with the place." Cordelia says off handedly and Lorne grimaces as they step into Golden and his people's sanctuary. It's everything but clean.

"Yes, this is homey." he supplies reluctantly as Angel makes his way over toward the grate to inspect it and check for safety.

"So, it's secure?" Angel questions thoroughly and Golden nods.

"It's held so far." he replies and Angel purses his lips and scans the place. It wont last long and he knows it. They better move on fast or whatever they're talking about is gonna eventually make it inside, one way or another.

"Uh-huh."

"Held against what exactly?" Willow wonders nervously. There's all this talk about a beastie but no one's seemed to mention exactly what kind yet, which is leaving her a little uneasy. Not to mention, worried. There's a lot of anxiety going on. And she's still a little hesitant when it comes to the magic thing, the whole reason why she's been trying not to use so much of it lately.

"Don't know. Never have gotten a clean shot. But it's not like anything I've ever seen." Golden explains and Willow nods politely. So there's still a chance it wont be that bad. How many horrible things could a human see?

"Golden's brother used to soldier in my crew back in the old days. Then he broke off, went solo." Gunn expands, giving them all a little back story.

"Yeah, Tommy was running our unit when the sun went out. Stayed topside as long as we could, tried to hold some ground, but there were too many of 'em. We go out every day and check the traps, but I don't think we've caught anything today…"

"They're your crew, aren't they? You're the leader or at least one of them…" the boy's eyes flit to Buffy who's standing back and also quietly inspecting the place. The boy turns back to Angel. "I'm Matthew."

Angel keeps searching for any openings.

"You guys really know how to live." Dawn quips to Golden, who shrugs in response. She guesses it isn't exactly his ideal way of life, but it keeps the heart beating.

"It's ok. All the other ways in are grated off. We checked." Matthew tells Angel but the souled vampire doesn't make eye contact as he looks around.

"Well, now I'm checkin'." he says curtly. He doesn't have the time for nice right now.

"He's so young." Willow whispers, her eyes falling on Matthew and Dawn finds herself watching the young boy hover around Angel.

"Younger than me." she adds sadly. In a way she can relate to the kid. He was dragged into this, forced to grow up faster than any kid should have to.

"We found him in a pile-up on La Brea. Vamps laid tire traps on the road, havin' themselves a car-wreck picnic. He watched them murder his parents. They were comin' after him when we showed up." Golden offers and Dawn bites her lip. He's had to deal with so much.

"Matthew," Buffy says absently, as she stares down at her bloody knuckles. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before turning to the boy. "You got any water in this place?" she wonders and he nods, gesturing toward the opposite end of the room.

"Yep. We tapped a clean water pipe right over here." he replies, padding over to the other side of the underground safe haven. Buffy follows him over to the pipe and twists the knob to turn on the water. She winces as she washes off the blood and Angel furrows his brows and stops himself from asking if she's alright. She's fine and he knows it, but he can't help but want to ask. Just like he cant help wanting to help or wanting to storm into the hotel and grab Conner and Faith. But he cant focus on Buffy or Conner or Faith right now. Its those snap judgment calls that would get them all killed. He has to focus on Jasmine and a way to get them all out of this mess.

"Anyway, I knew about this place. I used to crash up here nights when the missions were full." Holly shrugs as she tells but a small piece of her own story that no one seems to be all that interested in, too busy worrying about there lives and the thing prowling the sewers and hey, let's not forget Jasmine.

"So we hit a supermarket that hadn't burnt down yet and got some supplies and went under. Been down here ever since. About 2 weeks and some change." Golden explains and Lorne scrunches his nose with distaste.

"No offense, but, uh, 2 weeks down here and I'd be ready to move back in with my mother." he says and taking another look around he can feel the heebie jeebies coming on. The place creeps him out to the point of no end.

"Yeah, well, we were holdin' our own. Occasional baddie lookin' for a place to sleep, nothin' we couldn't handle. Till that thing out there moved into our territory. It's been pickin' us off ever since." Golden counters and he and Holly suddenly look sullen at his statement.

"Got Tommy almost a week ago. He was out resetting the traps." Holly says quietly and Cordelia looks sympathetically at the girl. Matthew eventually wanders over to Buffy and watches as she finishes rinsing off her hands. Once she shuts off the water and starts wiping her hands on a towel Matthew speaks up.

"Whose blood is that?" he asks curiously and Buffy's jaw clenches tight.

"Somebody I knew." she replies grimly, images of her fist meeting Faith's face and then one older and slightly less clear of sticking a knife in her gut. She feels guilt bear down on her. But she had reason to do what she did. Faith was evil back in Sunnydale and she was sort of evil now. It was the only way.

"Somebody who tried to do bad stuff to my friends." she adds and Matthew nods understandingly.

"I can't believe you stayed down here." Cordelia says, pursing her lips as she tries to imagine staying down there for that long. She knows the old Cordelia would have squealed in disgust but the new Cordelia can accept that this could possibly come her reality.

"Worse up there, ain't it? The world is ending. What does it matter where we go?" Holly replies and Cordelia shrugs in agreement. She's got a point.

"Besides, whatever that evil son-of-a-bitch is, it killed our people, killed my brother. We're gonna kill him right back." Golden declares, his brow set in determination. And Wesley shakes his head as countless old stories of the people rebeling agaisnt the evil in their world and refusing to succumb to the dark, come swimming into his brain. But there's no need to retell old stories, not when they're living in one.

"It's weird, really, us running into you like this. I mean, we—we're professional monster killers." Fred chuckles slightly as she takes a look around at the others. Each one of them either bloody or dirty before her small smile fades and is replaced by sadness. They're not really so professional anymore are they? "Or we were."

"Are, Fred. We are." Angel corrects, swiping a sword off the floor. Golden's features become angry and he steps in front of Angel.

"Hey, that belonged to Tommy." he growls and Angel stands his ground.

"Well, now it belongs to me. Let's go get professional on this evil son-of-a-bitch's ass." he tells Golden before walking out into the sewers. There is no time for sentimental value or pleasantries, its do or die.

"Heard that." Gunn mutters as Buffy follows Angel out. Gunn sighs, grabbing a weapon with Welsey before meeting Golden, Willow, Xander and Lorne's eyes and trailing behind the others as they all make their way out into the sewer passage.


	26. Chapter 25

A/N: First off, I just wanted to say thank you for all the support you guys have given me and this story and I'm sorry the update was a little late. I'm back in school now so I was busy but I promise to focus more. Another thing, I told you all a while back I was gonna add a Fresley scene or two in and I did just that so if you go back to chapter 7 there's now a Wesley/Fred scene you might want to check out right in the beginning. I just love them too much to not give them any scenes and I promise more will come, hopefully a nice Gunn and Faith scene too. Anyway, enjoy this chapter and the next one I'll bring more news about the story and where I plan on going with it becuase there are some things you all need to know soon. So see you next time!

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**Carpe Noctum**

_Chapter 25_

"Yes. Of course. Drop by any time. And thank you for calling." Jasmine says into the phone in her hand, before chuckling and hanging up. Faith waits patiently for her to speak as she sits on the small couch in Jasmine's room

"The police lost them hours ago." she relays, standing up and walking to the other side of the room. Faith's eyes follow Jasmine eagerly.

"Let me go out. I'll bring them down, I promise." Faith pleads, she wants to prove she can do what Jasmine needs her to do. That she won't fail her again.

"Soon. Soon you'll go out with all of my strength behind you... but first we have to celebrate." Jasmine says from in front of the window with a smile. "That was the Governor on the phone. Very agreeable. He's dissolving his administration tonight. The time of the politician is over. This state now answers to me."

Jasmine's laugh carries across the room and Faith watches the joy erupt on her face.

"Ohh! It's happening. Don't you feel it? This world is about to kneel before me and shed all its avarice, all its woe. I will free them from the loneliness, from the empty horror of their lives." Jasmine says, walking over to Faith and chuckling softly. "They won't know what hit them."

"I'm sure of that." Faith agrees loyally.

"And you'll be there, at my side. We will live in a palace built by the love of billions. It will make the pyramids of Giza look like the headstones in a pauper's graveyard. We'll be a family, Faith. Together, as one, forever." Jasmine coos as she touches Faith's face softly. "It's going to be beautiful." she promises hugging Faith close to her.

"Yes." Faith agrees blankly and Jasmine pulls away and tilts her head.

"Then why aren't you smiling?" she questions, puzzled at Faith's lack of happiness.

"I don't know." Faith shrugs, looking ahead and Jasmine stands up and nods absently.

"I think I do. To belong, to truly be a part of something, you have to surrender to it—completely." Jasmine explains and Faith stares at her leader, her eyes pleading for help. She's been on her own for so long, she doesn't think she can let go of everything of all the emotion she's been harboring.

"I want to, really." the slayer says meekly and Jasmine moves closer to Faith.

"There's a part of you that you've kept from me—your pain." she drawls and Faith tilts her head slightly, trying her best to figure out what Jasmine is telling her.

"I don't understand." Faith admits and Jasmine nods understandingly. Faith never was a school girl, and she's definitely not one who's good with words. But Jasmine accepts her despite that, it's one of the things she really loves about her.

"Pain has been the only constant in your life, the one thing that has never abandoned you. You think that pain is yours to keep and bear alone. But it's not. I want it. I want everything you are. Faith, let it go." Jasmine says softly, taking Faith's hand in hers and slowly digging her fingernails into the brunette slayer's skin. "Let me have it." she commands and Faith almost doubles over with tears as she nods.

"Okay." she replies just as Jasmine pulls away, holding up her hand to reveal a number of fingernail marks pierced in her hand, just like Faith's before they quickly fade away.

"Okay." Jasmine repeats, her lips tugging up at the sides.

xxxxxxx

The gang Golden and his crew walk down the sewer tunnels purposefully together, tense and ready to strike when needed.

"They're just kids." Fred whispers sadly, shaking her head as she walks beside Willow.

"Like high school kids." the witch adds disbelievingly. Though thinking about her high school experience she can't say its completely surprising, but that doesn't mean she has to like it.

"Strength in numbers." Angel provides with a shrug and Fred furrows her brows disapprovingly.

"Angel—" Fred starts to say but Angel cuts her off.

"They just wanna strike back, Fred, at something, anything. I know how they feel." he replies sullenly, turning away and scowling ahead of him. He wishes they could just get a lead, something that would put them back in the game.

"I ever tell you I suck at sports?" Lorne points out nervously to the group.

"Hey you're not the only one." Xander consoles, patting Lorne on the back.

"You were pretty good at swimming if I remember correctly." Cordelia mentions brushing her body against Xander's slightly. He reddens and shrugs.

"Yeah, if you count almost getting eaten by fish people good." he jokes, shaking his head at the memory.

"Well at least you had the look down and that's pretty much all you need." she reasons and he smiles goofily at her. Angel, Buffy, and the rest of the group round the corner and they stop as Matthew looks around him.

"This is where Tommy got taken." Matthew tells them and Buffy scrunches up her nose as she catches wind of something funky in the air.

"What's that smell?" she asks, looking back and forth to see if she can find the source.

"It's ammonia." Angel provides absently just as growling noises emit from above them and Golden is snatched and pulled into a vertical pipe.

He screams as he vanishes from their sight and Angel leaps up into the pipe after him.

Buffy waits anxiously, unsure if she should jump in as fighting noises drift down from inside the pipe. But before Buffy gets the chance to decide Golden drops down onto the floor at their feet. Holly goes to his side just as Angel jumps down beside him. Buffy reflexively grabs his shoulder to see if he's alright but Matthew sees Angel vamped out and takes off.

"Matthew, it's ok!" Angel shouts.

"Matthew!" Buffy yells, starting to run after the boy with Angel. They're not even a few feet away when something latches onto Fred, attempting to drag her into a separate sewer tunnel.

Buffy grabs onto Fred while Angel swings his sword at the thing holding her and Fred crawls away from where she was snatched at. Willow goes to her side and helps her up.

"If Matthew reaches the surface…" Angel trails off and Xander and Gunn nod in understanding.

"We'll get him." Xander assures him.

"Right." Angel says absently. Gunn turns to Fred and Cordelia.

"Come on!" he motions and Fred nods and starts after Matthew with Cordelia, Xander and Gunn.

"That thing is really pissin' me off." Buffy grunts, turning around toward the others. "Lorne, Wes, Dawn…"

"Jawohl." Lorne says as he looks around and finds the spaces where the other two people addressed were standing empty.

"Where's Wes and Dawn?" Angel asks as he Buffy and the others whip around to look the empty sewer tunnel.

xxxxxxx

Dawn does her best to keep herself from screaming as the creature that took her and Wes from the group drops them on the ground. The demon is gray and skinny and has pincers instead of hands, four tough spider shaped legs and two scrawny arms. It walks up to Wesley and Dawn, clicking like some kind of insect before shouting at them.

"We loved her first!" the demon screeches, clicking angrily as it glares down at the two of them. Wesley eyes it warily, trying his best to sift through his collective knowledge of demon ancestry to try and figure out what kind of demon this thing is, but with no such luck.

Dawn just hopes it's a nightmare she's having, a really gross, really scary nightmare that she's about to wake up from. She looks down at her arm and pinches herself to check. When the small sting comes she groans and scoots farther away from the demon looming over her and Wesley.

xxxxxxx

Angel brushes his fingertips across the floor as he squats over the area where Dawn and Wesley were taken. He can smell their scents lingering in the air and the smell of something unidentifiable but definitely not human. Buffy stands beside him as he inspects the ground with Willow and Lorne off to the side with Golden and Holly.

"It got Wes and Dawn?" Lorne questions nervously and Angel stands up and nods.

"Yeah. It must've looped around behind us. It knows these tunnels better than me. And it's fast." Angel tells them, looking between them all.

Buffy looks to Willow and the redhead fidgets under the intensity of her best friends gaze. She knows what Buffy's going to ask her before the words even leave her mouth.

"Will can you do it?" she asks, her voice even but her hazel eyes hopeful. Since being back Will has been a little uneasy with the magic, truth be told other than Angel's soul restoration she hasn't done much. If Willow could just cast a locater spell or something, it would make finding Dawn and Wesley that much easier. But Buffy can tell by the look on Willow's face that just isn't going to happen, not right now.

"Buffy I'm not so sure it's a good idea for me to use magic right now, not when I'm this vulnerable." Willow replies, wincing at the thought of being so useless. The entire Jasmine debacle has left her feeling a little unbalanced. Buffy squeezes Willow's shoulder slightly to show her she understands and Willow smiles softly.

"Look, I'll track it down. Lorne, take the others back to the fort. Wait for Gunn, Xander, Cordy and Fred."

"Ohh! If you insist." Lorne says instantly and Angel shakes his head and turns away. Its not Lorne's fault he wants to stay out of the thick of things. He prefers his head attached to the rest of his body, thank you.

"Will." Buffy suggests nodding toward a retreating Lorne.

"Got ya Buff. See you soon." Willow nods, making her way over to Lorne's side.

"Uh-uh, Dracula. Not ok." Golden says, shaking his head and holding weapons up at Lorne and Angel. Buffy steps I front of Angel and scowls at Golden.

"Look, there is no time for your pride, right now, okay? You're gonna go back with Willow and Lorne while Angel and I track down this demon. Like he said _we're _professionals at this. Go and wait for us to find you."

xxxxxxx

"All right, f-fine. You loved her first." Dawn admits, as she sits up and stares at the demon scurrying around.

"Before your kind was, my kind loved her. Stood stone on stone, built the temple. Always making ready. Ohh... but she came here." the demon squeals, squinting and glaring in Wesley and Dawn's direction.

"She?" Dawn asks.

"Jasmine?" Wesley questions and the demon cocks its head to the side in confusion. "Jasmine. That's what we call her. The... superior being that—that you loved first." Wesley explains and the demon stomps its feet.

"You name her. Filthy little mice! She is the devourer... the song... the peace... the whole... and you try to name her." the creature moans just as a glob of blood covered bloody viscera falls at Dawn and Wesley's feet.

"Ew." Dawn says scrunching her face up and covering her nose.

"Work to do." the demon mutters, walking across the cave before snapping his head back to Wes and Dawn. "We loved her first!"

"And how does your kind define 'love'?" Wesley wonders curiously as he stares at the bloody guts splattered in front of him.

"Same as all bodies. Same as everywheres." the demon reasons, his black eyes meeting Dawn's. "Love is sacrifice."

Dawn gasps as she remembers Glory and Buffy's 'gift', her sacrifice and she thinks she finally realizes what it means. She never truly understood why people gave up their lives. For the greater good. To stop evil. Those are all good answers on paper but they're not the real reason behind sacrifice. The real reason is love.


	27. Chapter 26

A/N: I'm back with an all new chapter! Updates are going to be coming a little less than I usual due to school and everything but you'll get atleast one a week, maybe more if I'm really in the writin' mood. Okay, now to the big news. I'm writing a sequel to this story. It's most likely going to be called 'Carpe Diem' just because I think it'll be clever and it will be a rewrite/crossover of Buffy season 7. What will it be like when the Fang gang makes an extended trip to the hellmouth? You're going ot have to read to find out. Now most of you may be thinking, "what does this mean?" Well it means that the ending of this story WILL be angsty but I promise you'll see a lot more B/A in the sequel and even a little Spike! And hey tell me guys, are you excited about the sequel? How do you feel about it? Tell me what you think and don't forget to review! I have a few of you have been reviewing every chapter, which I REALLY appreciate but hey everyone else? Dont be afraid to drop a comment. I love hearing what you guys have to say, it really brightens my day. Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

**Carpe Noctum**

_Chapter 26_

"Matthew? Matthew!" Cordelia calls out wading through sewer water with Xander, Fred and Gunn at her side .

"Matthew!" Fred shouts hopelessly as she look from left to right. "You sure he went this way?" Fred asks absently her eyes intent on the dark tunnels ahead of them.

"Definitely heard splashin'. It's gotta be him." Gunn reasons, nodding his head forward.

"Unless it was another one of those skittering creatures." Xander says uneasily.

"Yeah, well, it better skitter its hindquarters outta my way, 'cause I ain't in the mood." Gunn grunts, straightening his shoulders out and keeping a steady pace. He's ready for whatever beastie to make its way to him, he's so in the mood to kill something.

"Or it could just be rats." Fred offers attempting to ease the tension but it seems to have the opposite affect when Gunn and Cordelia suddenly stop in their tracks.

"Now what did you have to go and say that for? Damn!" Gunn cries, as he looks frantically around his feet. He can't be dealign with rats too, on top of this whole mess.

"Come on Fred!" Cordelia whines. "Now he'll never move."

"Sorry, I wasn't— I'm sure if it's not Matthew then it's probably some horrible monster, but definitely not—"

"How about we split up that way we can cover more ground." Cordelia prompts and Xander nods before anyone can get the chance to disagree.

"I'll go with Cordy this way." he says just as Cordelia grabs his arm and pulls him into the right tunnel.

"Look at us. Where we are. I mean, yesterday we were happy. Happier than I ever thought possible. Now we're trudging through sewage, huntin' some 13-year-old kid to drag his ass back down here so he doesn't find out it's Shangri-la-la land up there."

"He's scared, Charles. Think how he feels." Fred replies softly, sympathy coloring her tone.

"You heard Angel. Feelings don't enter into it anymore." Gunn says gruffly, a scowl on his features. He gets where the guys coming from. Feelings make everything complicated, make things hard. When Fred and Wesley kissed and then she broke up with him, it still tears at him. That she chose Wes over him, but things we're starting to get better. He was finally looking at Fred like he used to, before they started up their whirlwind romance and it was all because of Faith Lehane. The badass, dark, powerful brunette who had a killer right jab and a smoking body.

"That the world we're fighting for? The right to be heartless, an uncaring shell? To be dead inside?" Fred counters, her voice rising angrily as she stops and stay rooted to the spot. How can he condone ignoring what he feels, emotions are what make them human? it's the only thing that separates them from the bad guys.

"We're gonna be dead, period, if Jasmine gets a hold of that kid. We're fightin' for our survival." Gunn tells her, turning and walking away.

"That's not enough, Charles, not for me. Maybe you can turn off your feelings like Angel can, leave the people we care about behind." Fred says, shaking her head resolutely.

Gunn screws up his face in annoyance. Since when does Fred get to say whether or not he's being heartless? He didn't want to leave Faith behind. They had no choice.

"Yeah, well, you had no trouble turnin' off your emotion chip when—" The scowl on Gunn's face falls as he sees Fred put her hands on her hips and stare him down.

"When what?" she questions indignantly, glowering over at him.

"Nothin'." he shrugs, shaking her head and going to turn away. He's angry, yeah, but that doesn't mean he wants to hurt Fred. He doesn't want to bring it up, not now.

"What were you gonna say?" Fred wonders, waiting for Gunn to answer.

"Forget it." he grunts, looking over his shoulder and shrugging.

"No, when did I ever—" Gunn stops walking and looks over at Fred, his eyes dark and clouded with guilt.

"When you and I killed a man." he replies before shaking his head slightly and backing off. "I mean, when I did." he corrects.

"We did." she admits softly.

"Whatever. Point is, when the circumstances called for it, you did what you thought you had to. Didn't matter what anybody else thought." Gunn explains.

"You're right about all of it except for one thing. What we did, I felt it. Every bit of it. And, you know, sometimes when I allow myself to think about it, it eats me up inside." she confesses, taking a deep breath.

"Yeah, me, too." he admits quietly and Fred nods.

"Well, I don't know about you, but... I'd take that over being a shell any day." she says, making her gaze level with his and he looks away.

"Come on. There's a scared kid out there we gotta find." he says leading the way back to go and find Matthew.

xxxxxxx

"You think I didn't see that back there? You're one of 'em." Golden says, glaring at Angel with his wooden pole pointed at Angel with the rest of his crew on Buffy, Willow, and Lorne.

"Uh, Golden, it's not like that." Angel attempts to explain. Buffy turns to Golden and nods. If only he knew.

"Yeah, he's telling the truth." she promises but Golden shakes his head at her.

"Excuse me. Not talkin' to the petite blonde, talkin' to vampire. Thank you." he quips turning his gaze back on Angel.

"Uh-uh." Buffy scowls and Angel tries to cut the tension that's thick in the air. Him and Buffy don't have time to deal with this.

"All right, what you saw, yes, I can't deny that, but—"

"But he only drinks pig's blood!" Lorne tells them dismissively.

"Lorne…" Angel warns, explaining his situation isn't going to help _their _situation. That isn't how Golden or his crew operate. Once they got something in their head its not going away until Angel demonstrates his choice to fight the bad guys and save the innocent.

"Well, it's true! You gotta give an undead fella points for that, right, huh? I mean, unless you're into the whole kosher thing, but, I mean, you're not— well, you don't look—" Lorne trails off as Golden pushes the weapon closer to Lorne's neck. "OK, horned demon shutting up." Lorne says nervously.

"Look, I don't blame you for feelin' this way, but I'm not gonna justify my existence to you. I wouldn't be able to." Angel tells him. Buffy watches as Golden eyes Angel doubtfully. "But what I can do is take that spear away from you and snap it into kindling and break your neck in half the time it would take for you to give it a good push. Or you can step aside and let us go help our friends."

xxxxxxx

Gunn and Fred come to the end of their tunnel and find themselves on the street out in the daylight. They see Xander and Cordy a few feet away coming out of their tunnel right after.

"Anything?" Fred asks as her, Xander, Cordelia and Gunn converge in the middle of the street, the sun bearing down on them.

"Unfortunately, no." Xander says, squinting against the sunlight. They start to walk around the general area, rounding a corner as they look for Matthew when a kid on a skateboard passes by. They all duck down and move into the depths of an alley avoiding the boy.

"Close one, huh?"

xxxxxxx

The demon skitters around the cavern fast at work, carving into bodies that hang all over the cave walls.

"That door is open." Wesley points out and the demon nods absently.

"Yes." the creature says.

"Aren't you worried we'll just run away?" he asks and Dawn furrows her brows.

"Wes!" Dawn whsiper yells, scowling at the ex watcher. He's not supposed to be telling the thing they're trying to escape from their escape plan. It totally defeats the purpose.

"Hm. Not worried. Good at catching furries." the demon tells them and Wesley nods. The creature is confident and has demonstrated its obvious talent at catching humans, but still Wesley can't seem to pinpoint what kind of demon this one is.

"Yes... clearly. So... not from around here, are you?" Wesley prompts. He knows for a fact they have to be, this demons like nothing he's ever seen before. The demon stops what he's doing and huffs at Wesley in annoyance.

"No. Other world. Older world." the thing replies. Wesley's eyes fall on a blue orb sitting atop a small boulder in the corner of the cave. "You go. Go on. Use my key. Visit. What we breathing there burn out little mouse lungs before you can make a peep." the demon laughs and Dawn cowers quietly. She wishes Conner were with her.

"Fair enough." Wesley replies, getting to his feet. So he's learned somethign already. Maybe getting captured will do them all some good, at least maybe he can try and get one step closer to defeating Jasmine.

"Fair enough. Fair enough-enough." the creature mocks before turning around and going back to working on the bodies hanging on his walls.

"Are you preparing a spell?" Wes asks curiously as he observes the markings and blood patterns the demon has smeared across the cave walls.

"Mmm, this blood magic. Flesh magic. Older than words. More much power. This magic she will hear. She will hear and remember her true ones." the creature mumbles, nodding and wiping his grey claw-like hands on the rock around him.

"So no incantations, then?" Wesley says, his eyebrows raised.

"No words. She gives no care about words. Word magic." the thing scoffs, shaking its head. And Wesley thinks there might be something there.

"Really." he says, pursing his lips.

"There is only one word she—"

"One word?" Wesley interrupts, his eyes intent on the creature and his ears ready for the pertinent information. The demon rocks its body back and forth and shakes its head viciously.

"What word... does she give care about?"

"You is talky meat. Don't make me come down there." the demon warns and Dawn tugs on Wesley shirt.

"Wesley. Just… just leave it alone. If we can just wait for Buffy…"

"It'll be alright." Wesley assures her before looking back up at the grey insecty demon.

"Aah! My god! What is it with you, man? This is disgusting." a guy complains and the demon growls and points at him.

"You!"

"Just drop the cliche serial killer crap and stake me already! Please!" the vampire begs and the demon looks at him, puzzled and confused.

"I tear your guts all inside out. I stitch your guts every all over. Why don't you go dead?" the thing wonders and the vampire scowls.

"Why don't you go f—" the demon jumps, attacking the vampire and all that can be heard are the vamp's screams.

"Pssh! More talky meat." the demon complains, tossing the vampire's freshly cut out tongue.

"Oh god." Dawn groans, looking away from the bloody tongue a few feet away from her and Wesley.

"You can't kill him, not that way. He's already dead. He's a vampire." he informs the demon and the thing tilts his head.

"Hmm, vampire. Like the one with the angry steel?" the thing questions and Wesley furrows his brows.

"Angry steel?" Dawn wonders.

"The one that hurt me in the tunnels back there."

"Angel." Wes nods, and the demon moves its head back and forth, not understanding.

"That's his name, the one who attacked you." Dawn explains and the demon scoffs.

"You creatures! Throwing your names all over all the time! That's why you're so weak. Too many are knowing your names, takes your power away."

"It doesn't work that way here. With us— So that's the word, isn't it? The word she gives care about?" Wesley gasps, finally realizing Jasmine's weakness. The one way they can get to her.

The demon suddenly stops what its doing and turns to face Wesley and Dawn, its face blank and its voice harsh. "Shut."

"It's her name."

"Shut! Shut! Shut! Shut! Shut! Shut! Shut!" the creature screams, grabbing Wesley and pinning him up against the wall.

"Wesley, maybe we should just be quiet now." Dawn advises anxiously, as she watches the demon drop Wes to his knees and scurry away. Wesley looks over toward the blue orb again as he rubs his neck, trying to formulate a plan.

xxxxxxx

Angel and Buffy are silent as they prowl the sewers and Buffy feels sharp barbs piercing her heart as she remembers the last time they were hunting down a demon in the sewers. Faint protests of having a life together echo in her ears and she shakes her head hoping to dispel the images. She looks to Angel and sighs as she notices his blank expression. Or more like broody scowl. This isn't the Angel she knows and loves, he's filled with compassion and love… not heartlessness. Maybe a little broody at times, but not angry and uncaring. And she cant stand watching him act this way. She grunts suddenly and stops in her tracks, putting her hands on her hips and blocking Angel's path.

"What is wrong with you, Angel?" she demands angrily and he keeps facing forward. And all she wants is for him to look at her at least once. To show her that he's still somewhere inside there.

"A lot." he mutters bitterly and guilt chokes her, keeping her from speaking, but then she shakes her head. No. Why is she feeling guilty? He's the one who left her! She was hurt and broken and he wasn't there so she did what she had to do. To feel. To continue living. Dawn and the others, they need Angel to fight and be himself so she does her best to muster up the words to reply.

"Look, I know you're pissed at me." she says and his eye brows shoot up disbelievingly. He's more than angry. He's hurt and he doesn't even know where the two of them even stand right now but he just cant let that affect him right now. He has to tune it all out or else he wont be able to do what he has to. "Okay you're more then pissed but Angel this isn't _you_." Buffy says purposefully, walking over to him until she's barely a few inches away. She doesn't realize that he's not only angry but he feels guilty too and he still loves her. And oh how he's missed those green and brown orbs of fire glaring at him, the emotion, the passion, its all still there. And all Angel can see is that day in the sewers, how hurt and upset and sngry she was when he told her they couldnt be together and that he was leaving.

"Wes and Dawn need you…Fred and Gunn, Willow and Cordelia, hell, even Xander needs you… but most of all _I _need you to be you, the champion, the hero because none of us expect anything less." Buffy says, her eyes somoldering and full of fire. Angel's eyes bore into hers but she doesn't look away and neither does he.

xxxxxxx

A large green garbage truck drives by and Cordelia, Fred, Xander and Gunn come darting from out behind a parked car when they see Matthew on the other side of it.

"Matthew! It's ok. We don't want to hurt you. We just want to talk, but it's not safe here." Fred says frantically as Cordelia and Gunn scope the area to check for possible threats.

"You didn't tell me the sun came back out." Matthew says, looking up at the sky in awe.

"Oh, yeah, forgot to tell you. Sun came back out." Xander replies quickly and Cordelia gives him a look.

"Angel, he's a vampire like the ones who—"

"Matthew, we can't explain it all up here, but we're the good guys, I swear, and we need you to come with us." Cordelia tells him, bending down so that she's eye level with him.

"No. No, I won't go!" he refuses, shaking his head and starting to take a step back.

"Sorry, son, but we ain't asking." Gunn says hardly and Matthew spins around to look for other people.

"Help! Help!" he shouts just before Gunn's fist meets his face, knocking him out cold. Cordelia and Fred stare at him, stunned while Xander stays silent.

"Xan." Gunn prompts and Xander tears his eyes away from Matthew to look over at him.

"What?"

"Get his feet." he says and Xander nods before bending down and picking up Matthew's feet while Gunn grabs his hands.

xxxxxxx

Wesley and Dawn are sitting on the floor, slowly backing away from the furious demon looming over them.

" She has a name, and it has power over her! That's why she keeps it a secret!" Wesley shouts and the creatures turns away.

"La-la-la-la-la la-la-la-la! I'm not listening!" it chants, holding its claws up to its ear holes.

"And somehow her true name prevents her from choosing a false one? So one of us had to do it." Wesley continues, standing up and pushing on. But the demon whirls around moving closer in an instant and punching Wes in the face.

"What it matters, eh? Eh, talky meat? I don't keep the name. High priest keep the name! And you about to go dead, about to be a smear on my flesh spell." the demon says, its voice deep as it grabs Wesley by the neck and lifts him up so his feet are dangling and he's struggling to breath. "I just messenger from the ones who love truly."

"Well, then…" Buffy starts as the demon turns back and sees Angel and Buffy standing in the entrance. "I guess it's time to shoot the messenger. Or, you know, chop the messenger into little bitty pieces. Whatever." she quips, shrugging easily. The creature drops Wesley and charges head first toward Buffy and Angel. Buffy gives him the okay to go and he maneuvers away from the fight and over to Wesley and Dawn's side to help them get out.

xxxxxxx

"And that's why when we use words like 'ugly-ass' and 'beastie,' we can sometimes do more damage than we intend to. It ain't all about sticks and stones, my young friends. That's all. A little life lesson— One to grow on." Lorne says chidingly to Golden and his crew as Willow watches and shakes her head in amusement. "Knowing... knowing is half the—"

"Man, shut up!" Golden yells and Willow opens her mouth to defend Lorne when Fred, Cordy, Xander and Gunn bring in an unconscious Matthew.

"Matthew?" Holly asks with concern, rushing over to Xander and Gunn's side as they set Matthew down.

"Gunn, what the hell happened, man?" Golden questions, his eyes leaving Matthew and demanding answers.

"He'll be ok." Gunn promises, brushing it off.

"I'm sorry. We had no other—" Fred starts to apologize but Cordelia puts a hand on her shoulder while Xander's eyes widen.

"Fred!" he warns.

"What is she talking about?" Golden wonders, scowling in Gunn's direction.

"Nothing." Cordelia says quickly but Golden shakes his head and glowers at Xander, Fred, Gun and Cordelia.

"Gunn, I'm not liking what I'm not hearing. What did you do to my boy?" Golden ask demandingly and the man in question stands, shaking his head as he tries to explain.

"Son, there's a whole new world of bad going on upstairs, and your boy was walking into it blind. Now, we did what we had to, and frankly, I ain't interested in your opinion on the subject!" Gunn says plainly and Fred shifts uncomfortably, hoping Gunn doesn't burn any bridges before they can escape. Willow stays silent until Matthew starts to chuckle loudly, his voice sounding hysterical and slightly familiar.

"Matty? Honey?" Holly coooes, bending down by his side and stroking his head gently.

"Oh, no." Cordelia breathes and Gunn, Fred, Willow and Xander seem to notice it at the same time as Matthew sits up and starts to speak.

"I see you! Holly, look what they did to Matthew. They hit him again and again until he lost all consciousness. He just wanted to see the sun." Jasmine's voice says innocently through Matthew's body.

"Fred, Cordy, Xander, Lorne, time to go." Gunn suggests and Cordelia instinctively grabs for Xander's hand.

"Golden, my love, don't you want to hit them? Don't you want to kill them?" Jasmine proposes and Golden nods.

"You know... that just might make my whole damn day." he agrees, turning toward the six of them.

"Go!" Gunn shouts and they all take off into the sewers.


	28. Chapter 27

A/N: Chapter 27 is here, I know its a little short but I hope you like it anyway. Don't forget to leave a review and tell me what you think because it really makes me smile! Any typos are mine. Well, enjoy!

* * *

**Carpe Noctum**

_Chapter 27_

Gunn, Lorne, Xander, Willow, Cordelia and Wesley round a corner running from Golden's gang when they run straight into another mob in the process. They look up and the people part, making way for Faith to step up.

"Hello again, children. I believe you've met my friend." Faith says with Jasmine's voice. Gunn's chest aches to see Faith on the other side and under Jasmine's control.

"Okay is it me or does that get creepier and creepier every time it happens." Xander questions, shivering at the wiggins he feels coming on. As if Jasmine and her maggot face wasn't scary enough.

"Oh its not just you, trust me." Cordelia informs him before taking a few steps back. She wants to be as far away as possible, like different city away or different country away.

"This way!" Willow shouts, pointing toward a tunnel in between the two they're running from. She's a fan of not dying, so through the middle passage it is.

xxxxxxx

Buffy dodges a swipe of the demon's pincer and kicks out, hitting the demon in the chest. She tries to focus all her attention on its movements, using that useful stuff Giles used to teach her and train her to be so good at. She delivers a hard blow to the demons head but it gets up and throws Buffy across the room causing her back to slam against the stone wall. She scrambles to her feet just in time for the creature to scurry over to Angel as he stands in front of Dawn and run its pincer through his gut. Wesley pulls Dawn out of the way as Angel slumps to the ground.

"Angel!" Buffy shouts fearfully as Angel's body hits the ground.

"Little mice. They always soft inside." the creature says smugly. Buffy picks up Angel's sword and charges the creature, stabbing it's arm and cutting off part of the demon's pincer.

"Wretched little—" the demon screeches, ripping the sword out of Buffy's hands and hovering over her with it. "Time to go dead, mouse." it coos, bending down to stab her. Thats when Wesley charges the demon, slamming all his weight into the creatures side, but the demon quickly knocks him away. "Wait your turn, talky!"

While the demon yells at Wesley, Angel picks up the pincer Buffy cut off the demon and stabs the demon in the neck with it, letting its blood run down his hand. The demon screams in agony and falls to the floor with an audible thump.

"Little soft yourself in there." Angel quips, stepping over the body to Buffy and extending his hand out. Buffy takes it and he helps her up as the demon says its last words.

"Devourer...this meat...I give...unto thee." the demon breathes, before slumping to the floor completely and letting its head roll to the side. Dawn runs over to Buffy's side wrapping her arms around her sister as Wesley walks over to them.

"That creature, it came from a world that's worshipped Jasmine for millennia, a world that we can reach through this." Wesley explains, holding up the blue sphere.

"What?" Angel questions and Wesley smiles slightly. Hope alight in his eyes.

"I think the universe just handed us our first break." he replies and Angel sighs gratefully. Finally, something.

"That's great, now maybe if we could get out of here that'd be nice." Dawn says and Buffy nods in agreement.

xxxxxxx

"I really hate today." Xander whines, looking periodically over his shoulder as he, Willow, Cordelia, Lorne, Fred and Gunn run through the sewers fleeing Faith and her band of Jasmaniacs. If someone would have told him a couple days ago that he'd be on the run from Jasmine, he would have laughed in their face. Everything had been so unreal, he feels as though his time under Jasmine's influence was like a dream but now he realizes it was all a nightmare, just like this day.

"More worried about tomorrow myself." Gunn admits, seeing a corner and gesturing the others to follow him. They've got to cover more ground if they want to get away from Faith. He knows for a fact she's got good instincts and if they don't switch it up, she'll know exactly where they're going. "Come on!"

xxxxxxx

"No inscriptions, no markings of any kind, no moving parts, far as I can tell." Wesley observes as he studies the small sphere in his hand intently with Buffy and Angel watchign closely.

"So this high priest holds the true name?" Angel asks, attempting to confirm Wesley's musings. Wesley nods vigorously.

"Exactly." he replies, looking between Buffy and Angel.

"What else do we know about him?" Buffy questions and Wesley grimaces slightly. With a bit of common sense he can already tell what this keeper may be.

"I'm just guessing that he's bigger and meaner than our big, mean friend over there." Wesley supplies and its Buffy's turn to grimace. Why does everything always have to be bigger and meaner than the big mean thing they have to fight in the first place.

"Wouldn't surprise me." Angel reasons. Every new evil's always going to be bigger than the last big bad. It's just how it works. "What about—" Angel cuts off as he hears something in the distance. The sound of people moving through passages in the sewers. Buffy seems to notice too.

"Guys, something's going down." Buffy warns, squinting into the cavern's entrance suspiciously. She has a pretty good idea who it is who could of found them and she knows that isn't remotely of the good.

"Something?" Dawn squeaks nervously. How many somethings can there be in this sewer. She hates somethings.

"Something bad." Angel says, frowning before looking toward Buffy. He knows she knows. It's plainly written on her face. Fear and guilt.

"Faith." Buffy and Angel say in unison, before snapping their heads back toward the entrance. They can hear her, close by.

"We need to find the others." Angel tells them. He can't leave his people out there and he knows Buffy can't leave hers either. Adn then he realizes somehow during this entire time together, her people became his. Buffy can't help but feel the same way. Angel's people became her own the moment they all fought together, side by side and she knows she cant leave them behind.

xxxxxxx

"This is getting really old." Cordelia declares as she follows, Gunn, Willow, Fred, Xander, and Lorne around another corner in the maze of sewer lines. They've been running around blind for the past fifteen minutes with nothing but a couple yards of sewer line separating them from Faith and Jasmine's mob of followers.

"Oh god, are we dead yet?" Lorne mumbles and Willow purses her lips for a moment before shaking her head.

"Don't think so." she tells him and Lorne shifts a brow.

"And why is that again?" he wonders and Willow opens her mouth to speak when Gunn interrupts.

"If we can just find-" Gunn starts to say but Cordelia looks up and points in front of them.

"Angel!" Cordelia shouts and Gunn nods to himself. She pretty much finished his sentence for him. Thats exactly who they need to find.

"Yep, if we can find him and Buffy-" Gunn begins to say but Fred touches his shoulder and shakes her head.

"No she means its really Angel." Fred replies, eyes wide as she looks past him looking for Wesley. She wants to know if he and Dawn are okay.

"And Buffy!" Willow exclaims, relief coloring her tone.

"Buffy!" Xander calls out and Buffy waves them over.

"Guys!" she yells, gesturing them to walk past her and file into the cavern. Fred rushes in behind Lorne and Willow to see Wesley pacing back and forth, holding an ominous blue sphere. She starts to walk over to him and he looks up before opening his arms wide for her.

"Wesley." she breathes as she dives into his arms. He pulls her close and kisses the top of her head comfortingly. Fred pulls away and gives him a small smile before backing away from him slightly as he starts to pace again.

"No words. No word magic." Wes mutters, scratching his chin and staring into the cerulean sphere. The words keep playing back in his head as he tries to connect them, to figure out how to tap into this old world.

"Buffy, it's Faith. She's here." Xander says as he comes into the demon's lair right after Fred. Buffy nods.

"I know." she replies as Angel closes the door behind Buffy as she brings up the back.

"And, uh, the National Guard, I think." Lorne comments as he leans against the door to help secure it. The door lurches as Faith and her mob slam into it on the other side.

"Aah! No!" Fred squeals before she runs over to help Buffy, Willow, Lorne, Angel, Cordelia and Dawn hold the door.

"Will, can you work with the mojo?" Xander questions and Willow nods, taking a few steps back and holding her hands up.

"Hold on guys." she tells them, starting the spell she hopes might help.

"No word magic—powerless. Much more power in... blood magic?" Wesley mumbles, touching the wound on his head and brushing his bloody fingers on the glowing surface of the sphere. The orb glows brighter before shooting out a beam of light and opening up a portal. "Angel, I got it!" Wesley says excitedly, gesturing toward the swirling portal barely a few feet away.

"Ok, I'll hold this. You guys get going!" Angel tells them, staring at Buffy as they hold the door down beside each other. Before Buffy even has time to argue, Wesley shakes his head.

"No. No! We can't go. Not all of us! Only you!" he explains and Angel looks over to him, his brow raised and confusion written all over his face. What does Wes mean 'only you'? He cant leave them. They have to go with him.

"What are you talking about?" Angel questions, the confusion evident on his face.

"That thing's world, the atmosphere will kill us." Wesley says, walking over and taking Angel's place at the door. "We can't help there."

"But—" Angel starts to protest but Wesley shakes his head, interrupting him.

"Someone who knows the truth has to live through this." Wesley tells him sincerely and Angel's brows furrow.

"Angel… that's you." Buffy whispers and Angel's eyes rove over all his friends and finally stop on Buffy. And his unbeating heart breaks for them. For _her_.

"I can't." he replies, his voice choked. He can't just leave them behind.

"Hearts get in the way, right?" Fred asks smugly and Angel tries to blink away the tears he can feel forming. He knows for sure if he leaves them here, they'll die. There's no way they'll be able to get away, not with that many coming at them and Jasmines power behind them. Buffy's strong but she wont be able to protect them all.

"Go on dead boy, we got fighting for our lives to do here." Xander says jokingly, a smirk on his lips and Angel nods before running full speed ahead toward the portal.

"Angel, wait!" Wesley yells and Angel turns around just in time to catch the sphere Wesley tossed to him. Angel takes one last fleeting look at his friends before turning and jumping into the portal. "We can't hold it." Wesley acknowledges as the portal closes and he turns to the others.

"At least not for long." Willow adds, before going back to chanting. "_Protegunt hostes hinc comminus servo off."_

"Time for the big fight scene." Gunn grunts pushing away from the door, rolling his shoulders back and cracking his neck as he prepares. He doesn't want to be taken off guard.

"We've gotta be ready to let them in." Buffy says as she keeps her shoulder securely pushed against the door. She wishes she could protect them, keep them from whats about to go down.

"Do we have to?" Lorne moans and she nods sympathetically. She knows Lorne doesn't like violence, unfortunately there isn't any alternatives. They're all going to have to fight.

"We don't have much of a choice." Buffy replies and Lorne sighs heavily, taking a deep breath and facing the door apprehensively. He knows the minute they come rushing in, none of them is really going to have much of a chance, especially a demon from Pylea who doesn't know the first thing about physically battle. In short, he's pretty much screwed and he knows it, but he'll go out the way he came into the world, with a song in his heart.

Xander, Willow and Buffy exchange a look with one another. They all know its bad, and not just bad but bad bad. They've been doing this together for so long they feel like they at least have to try and fight back. Buffy smiles softly at her two best friends. The two people who have stuck by her, even when she didn't want them to and she's so grateful for them, for everything, almost everything, they've done.

But in that instance she almost wishes none of them had ever met, that she had never come to Sunnydale and messed their lives up. Maybe they would have all gotten out of this life long before it broke them to the point where none of them could ever be fully healed and her heartbreaks a little when she sees them nod at her and break off to get ready for the fight, determination and a grim resignation in there eyes.

Xander makes his way over to Cordelia as Buffy holds down the door and Willow keeps chanting away. And that's when he realizes, not only does he love Buffy and Willow but all of them and he prays to whoever will listen that everyone of them will make it out, even if he has to be left behind. Because right now he knows he'd give up his life for everyone in this room, especially the woman in front of him.

"Hey. So where do you think I can trade in my white hat?" Cordelia jokes and Xander is silent. walking toward Cordleia and pulling her by her waist, tangling his fingers through her hair and kissing her with everything inside him. When they pull away Cordelia's breathless and she's panting ever so slightly, wide eyes and love in her eyes and Xander knows that if he died now, he might kind of actually be okay with it. Knowing Cordelia cares about him is all the courage he needs to face what's on the other side of that door.

"Alright. Count of 3—" Gunn says, as everyone moves into position and Willow slows down her chant to a whisper, ready to stop at a moments notice. "1, 2—"

Faith kicks down the door and her mob of Jasmaniacs rush into the room, each one charging at Wesley, Lorne, Xander, Willow, Dawn, Buffy, Gunn and Fred. Dawn's eyes widen in fear as they pour in and Wesley keeps his eyes focused, anticipating an attack on himself or Fred. He has to keep her safe.

"Well now it's a party." Gunn grunts as he and the others move in, weapons raised and fists flying. All he knows is he ain't going out without a fight and a fight is exactly what he's gettin'.

xxxxxxx

Angel furrows his brows as he looks around at his surroundings perched on a cliff's edge. The landscape is harsh, rocky and grey and he's encircled by hundreds of the same kind of demon from the sewer, all clicking angrily at him and crawling closer through the silver haze hanging around them. He looks warily at his every side looking for an escape root that doesn't involve fighting hundreds of demons but he doesn't find one. He can barely see anything over their insect like legs and hard leather like skin. They're everywhere. He takes a deep breath and one last look around.

"Oh hell."


	29. Chapter 28

A/N: I'm sooooo sorry for the late update! My family had a labor day party and I was stuck on clean up detail, plus homework and last minute stuff to do so my plate was super full but here I am. I know its a little short but I promise next update will be longer. Anyways, any typos are mine and enjoy!

* * *

**Carpe Noctum**

_Chapter 28_

Faith narrows her eyes, coming face to face with Buffy as her band of Jasmaniacs take on Wesley, Xander, Gunn, Dawn, Willow, Fred and Lorne.

"Didn't think I'd find you, did ya B?" the brunette slayer questions.

"Well I was hoping not." Buffy retorts easily.

"Guess we get to finish what we started." Faith says with a smile and Buffy nods.

"I guess so."

Faith runs ahead kicking wildly in the air at Buffy. She ducks just in time for Faith's foot to soar over her head and for her to deliver a jab to Faith's gut and clash Angel's sword with Faith's, sending them both reeling backward at the backlash.

Meanwhile, Wesley and Gunn have taken loose pipes and used them as makeshift weapons against their attackers, beating down anyone who dares get in their way. Fred is on the other side elbowing a man hardly in the face. Dawn runs over kicks someone, knocking them off their feet while Willow sends minor spells whirling at the attackers.

Buffy cuts down any person she passes with her sword as her and Faith exchange blows.

Xander and Cordy fight back to back, doing their best to fend off whoever they can. Lorne uses his hockey stick to push an aggressor away from him and he feels triumphant when he does so. Guess he's got more in him than he thought.

It isn't until a man points his gun at Fred and cocks it in her face does she shout out.

"Wesley!" Fred cries out instinctively, not even giving it any thought. Wesley turns and throws a dagger he found and hurls in the man's direction, causing him to fall. Wes turns back to his fight, spinning and expertly maneuvering his pipe to knock him down before turning to another. He knows he's advanced so much since first coming to L.A. and he's proud of himself for it.

Another guy comes after Fred and Gunn sees him over his shoulder. He tries to fight his way through the crowd to go and help but someone knocks him to the ground. He looks up to see the back of Faith's head, getting back into the fight with Buffy.

Fred is pushed roughly to the ground, and the man points a gun in her face. Another person knocks Lorne in the head, and Lorne falls to the ground, the back of his head slamming into the ground.

Cordy and Xander get knocked down as well as Willow and Dawn. Wesley and Buffy are the only ones still fighting back—Buffy with Faith and Wesley with more than one attacker. Faith punches Buffy and she falls to her knees. Wesley breaks away and attempts to sneak up on Faith but she quickly turns and knocks him out.

Buffy gets up to fight again but she's grabbed at every side and thrown down next to her friends, who are all lined up. Faith grins and holds her sword to Buffy's neck.

"Angel." Faith prompts and Buffy stays silent, her eyes hard emerald and shining with determined fire. She doesn't care if Faith kills her, she wont tell her where he went or what he's doing. She takes a look down the line, all of her friends lined up and waiting to be slaughtered and she feels deep barbs stinging in her chest. If only she could have fought harder then maybe they wouldn't be here now.

xxxxxxx

Angel groans as his eyes roam over the hundreds of demons surrounding him. This isn't good. He knows this isn't good. He doesn't have any weapons. He knows there's gotta be a way to get past them. All he has is the… Angel stares long and hard at the creatures, then glances down at the orb. Its worth a shot. He raises the cerulean orb threateningly in his hand, and the insects screech and click weakly as they back away from him. Angel nods triumphantly before turning around to see a bridge to a city of sorts. He looks up at the high mesa-like mountain in the middle of the city, seeing a temple atop the mountain, through the thick gray haze that hangs in the air. He's guessing that's where the high priest and if not then climbing that mountain going to be a hell of a lot of time wasted. Angel sighs, tucking the orb in his pocket before starting toward the bridge. Here goes nothing.

xxxxxxx

Faith stomps angrily as she paces in front of the entire gang—Wesley, Xander, Willow, Dawn, Gunn, Cordelia, Fred, Buffy, Lorne— as her men hold guns at the ready. She has everyone of them lined up on their knees before her, waiting for the end, but she's got a lot to say first.

"What did you think you could do? Poison the whole city with your hate? Your tricks? Now I have no choice but to kill you."

"Faith—" Buffy starts to speak, but Faith shakes her head. She marches over until she's standing over Buffy, the tip of her sword inches away from the blonde slayer's face.

"Shut up." Faith says scoffing at Buffy. "All your talk about saving the world. Well... now somebody's gone and done it. Made everything right... and good. And you can't stand it because you're all so full of yourselves." Faith growls before walking over and bending down beside Dawn and Wesley.

"Don't you get it? You're all alone now. All of you. You're the ones left out in the cold. You... don't... belong." Faith whispers right into Dawn's ear and Buffy pushes her lips in a hard line as she tries to yank on the chains that bind her to no avail.

"Yeah well, if belonging means following some bogus god and killing in her name, then you're damn right we don't." Gunn retorts, eyes hard and his face a mask.

"I'm not listening to your lies." Faith spits turning away from them and shaking her head. It's all lies.

"Jasmine's the lie." Wesley says fiercely, trying to help break the hold Jasmine has on her somehow. "You've no idea what she is."

"Yes, I do." Faith articulates, raising her sword up, ready to strike.

"Faith, wait. Bring them to me." A guard speaks up with Jasmine's voice cutting through the cavern.

"Why?" Faith questions with surprise and disappointment.

"Has it become necessary to explain my wishes to you?" Jasmine wonders and Faith shakes her head.

"No, just—"

"Then be a sweet girl and bring them. Intact." Jasmine orders lightly and Faith sighs sadly before putting down her sword and glaring at Buffy through the dim light.

"Thank you, Faith."

xxxxxxx

"There's a long road before us, and there's still much to do, but we've made a wonderful start, thanks to all of you. Your devotion and sacrifice have made a difference." Jasmine says, addressing a crowd in her room. "Now if you'll join the others in the banquet room, I'll be with you all shortly."

"Thank you, Jasmine." A woman says gratefully before promptly leaving.

"Thank you so much."

The small crowd of followers disperse and leave the room, just in time for Faith to bring on Wesley, Gunn, Fred, Xander, Dawn, Willow, Buffy, and Lorne. All of which are still bleeding from their battle in the sewers.

"So much pain, suffering...must hurt so terribly." Jasmine says sympathetically.

"Don't get all gloaty. Not the worst beating we've ever taken." Xander counters.

"I meant the pain you've caused yourselves—letting go of me." Jasmine corrects him, shaking her head sadly.

"Oh, by giving up absolute tranquility and perfect happiness?" Lorne chuckles, before sobering up before looking between Willow, Cordelia and the rest of the group searchingly. "No loss, right guys?" Lorne questions, no one answers and his brows furrow. "Guys?"

"I only wish it was within my power to take you back." Jasmine says quietly, sighing softly.

"Nobody asked." Fred retorts harshly.

"And nobody is… right?" Willow asks her eyes meeting everyone else's.

"Where's Angel?" Jasmine asks, cutting to the chase and not spending anymore time on pleasantries.

"You're omniscient." Wesley points out sardonically. "You tell us."

Faith scowls before lifting her fist and punching Wesley square in the jaw. Wesley falls and Fred gasps, tears threatening to spill. She can't stand anyone she cares about being treated like that, especially Wesley.

"Faith, please. I don't want to see that." Jasmine says quietly and Wesley spits blood before looking up at Jasmine.

"The creature in the sewer. You recognized it, didn't you?" he questions and she nods in response. "Just another one of your zealots?" he prompts.

"A sentient, living being wanting what's best for his own. Is that so wrong? A few millennia ago, his world was not unlike yours. Full of hatred and fear, wars scarring its landscape." she corrects and Buffy rolls her eyes.

"Until—let me guess—you came along and made it a paradise." Gunn proposes and Jasmine turns to him.

"Well, as much of a paradise as one could with a bunch of insects to work with. I helped them along. Kicked their evolution up a few ticks." she reasons and Lorne scoffs.

"And how'd that work out for 'em?" he says sarcastically and Jasmine lifts her chin up.

"It was a trial run, an early experiment to work out the bugs, so to speak. I won't make that mistake again. I know where Angel is, and I know what he's looking for." Jasmine tells them seriously before leveling her gaze with Buffy's. "He's wasting his time."

"If you really believed that, you'd have killed us already." Wesley replies and Buffy smiles crudely.

"Not to mention you're looking a little nervous to me." Buffy quips and Jasmine's face remains neutral.

"Patience." she calls out and a small woman walks into the room, passing the gang lined up on their knees as if its nothing.

"Yes, ma'am?" Patience questions obediently.

"The news people have started to arrive. Please ask them to set up in the lobby. I'll be ready to speak with them after I've eaten." Jasmine explains and Patience nods before filing out.

"So it's time, is it?" willow realizes suddenly. Time for her to maker her big debut.

"Time for what?" Xander wonders, looking to Will with confusion.

"Too much trouble conquering a primitive dimension, wasn't it, Jasmine? Or whatever your name is. Must be nice for you that we have satellites to beam your message to the rest of the world." Wesley says bitingly and Jasmine smiles and nods.

"You're not wrong."

Fred shakes her head, eyes widening as she turns to Faith.

"Oh, God. Faith, you can't let her do this. She'll enslave everyone." Fred screeches and Faith glares at her.

"She'll bring them together." Faith disagrees, looking at Jasmine and smiling.

"You don't—" Fred begins to say but Buffy interrupts her.

"She's not what she pretends to be Faith! She's—"

"A monster." Gunn finishes and Buffy nods vehemently in agreement. She needs Faith to understand, to see the truth.

"Yeah. Cordy's blood that we tried to put in you, it was supposed to break the spell. Show you what she really looks like." Fred says desperately and Faith rolls her eyes.

"I know what she looks like. She's beautiful." she tells them all, completely unaware.

"Have you gone completely psycho? Okay wrong question to ask." Cordelia admits as Xander nods, agreeing with her assessment.

"Gentlemen, please show our guests to their accommodations." Jasmine says to the guards. They move in and drag Wesley, Xander, Cordelia, Dawn, Willow, Buffy, Gunn, Fred, and Lorne out of the room, with Jasmine and Faith bringing in the front.

"Save us the euphorisms." Buffy scowls, scrunching her nose as Faith pulls her and the others down the hall with the guards.

"Euphemisms, Buffy." Willow corrects and Buffy's mouth forms a small 'o'.

"Oh." Buffy breathes, mildly embarrassed. So yeah, she probably should have paid attention better in class and possibly stayed in college.

"Her intentions are correct. We're bargaining chips to keep Angel quiet." Wesley spits and Faith furrows her brows, uncertain of what Wes is talking about.

"Quiet about what?" she asks and Jasmine stops Faith as the guards continue to take the others down to the basement cage.

"Faith, this address is going to be very draining for me. While I'm feasting to build up my strength, I'm going to be out of touch with you, with everything. You'll be my eyes and ears. You understand?" Jasmine wonders hopefully, her hand on Faith's arm and Faith nods determinedly.

"Yeah. You got it." the brunette slayer responds and Jasmine smiles.

"I want you to stand guard over them, make sure they don't escape. If Angel so much as shows his face—"

"What is he looking for?" Faith questions and Jasmine narrows her eyes as she looks past Faith at some unseen scene.

"The unattainable."

xxxxxxx

Angel eyes the temple he steps into cautiously, passing a huge stone statue of Jasmine on his way in.

"A long way to come, dead thing, only to fail. Don't worry. The way down will be much, much quicker." an ominous voice sounds and Angel rolls his eyes in annoyance. Leave it to the evil types to try and quip, he swears they only started doing that since Buffy's been around. The sound of her name in his inner monologue causes him to swallow hard.

"Thanks for the tip. Maybe I can use your body to cushion the blow." he retorts easily, brushing aside the anguish for his son, for his love and for his friends aside to focus on saving the world, again.

"I doubt if my form would provide you much protection, but you're welcome to try." a creature offers, stepping from the shadows and revealing its human shaped, spikey, ceremonial robe covered body.

"You." Angel points out doubtfully, almost laughing at the thought of how easy Jasmine has made it. "You're the—"

"High priest, guardian of the word, caretaker of her most blessed temple." the creature finishes proudly and Angel chuckles as he takes a quick look around.

"Well, blessed temple's kind of empty, padre. So where are the other true believers? Or are you it?" he asks sardonically.

"Betrayers, blasphemers. Centuries of waiting for her return have caused most to doubt." the creature chuckles and shakes its head.

"But, not you, her faithful P.R. flak." Angel replies.

"She is the light. She is the way." the high priest explains and Angel shakes his head.

"She is not coming back."

"She will when she's through with your world." the creature insists and Angel purses his lips.

"You know, maybe we're not talking about the same person here. What's the name of yours again?" he wonders and the high priest lets a peel of laughter out.

"That's why you're here, dead thing. What you've come for. The word. The name." the creature says and Angel bobs his head.

"Good. You got that. So I don't have to ask it again." Angel shrugs before grabbing the priest by the throat and lifting the creature off the ground. "What is it?" he demands his eyes hard and searching.

"Fool. You can take away her power, but you've already lost... Everything." the creature says, unrelenting and smug. And Angel has just about had it.


	30. Chapter 29

A/N: So again, I'm sorry for the late update again. I've just been so busy with school and worrying about college. I've got ALOT on my plate right now, but don't worry I will keep updating regularly and quicker. Pretty much once a week. Anyway, sorry its sorta short. Enjoy!

* * *

**Carpe Noctum**

_Chapter 29_

Faith and the guards push Wesley, Buffy, Dawn and the others into the cage originally built in the basement for Angelus. As they all stumble in they look to the corner where a shadow is cast and a face looks up at them all. Dawn lets out a cry of relief before running over to his side and sobbing. Conner gathers her in his arms and tries his best to calm her, pressing gentle kisses in her hair.

"Conner. God I thought you were.. I thought you were dead." Dawn cries, squeezing Conner tightly.

"I'm okay." Conner assures her, an elated feeling rising through him at the knowledge that everyone is still alive. "We're together know and everything's going to be fine."

Faith rolls her eyes at the display before turning to follow her guards out when Lorne pushes up against the bars of the cage and shakes his head at her.

"You know Jasmine isn't what she says she is!" the green demon calls out and Faith turns on her heel, gaze leveled with his."That's not important." she replies simply and Buffy's brows furrow, looking toward her fellow slayer, trying to understand.

"What is important to you, Faith?" Buffy questions seriously.

"Not us, apparently." Gunn mutters bitterly and Faith's gaze momentarily falls on him before quickly shifting away.

"Faith, what does Jasmine eat?" Wesley suddenly prompts, hoping maybe the morality of it all might be enough to penetrate Jasmine's enchantment.

"What?" Faith questions.

"The creature in the sewer. It called her the 'devourer.' Devourer of what?" Wesley wonders and Faith knits her eyebrows together and shakes her head.

"I don't know." she replies, not knowing if what she eats should matter.

"Don't you? The followers she randomly chooses to come to her room. The ones she sent to meet her in the banquet hall…" Wesley trails off and Lorne nods.

"_They're _the banquet." Lorne tells her and Xander looks to Wesley and Gunn with surprise.

"Wait. People? She eats people?" he asks with a grimace and Cordelia scrunches up her nose and shakes her head.

"Ugh, God that's gross. Just what I needed to hear." Cordelia moans, putting her head in her hands.

"Oh, no." Dawn says quietly as she takes Conner's hand.

"'To Serve Man.' It's 'To Serve Man' all over again." Gunn says and Fred shakes her head disbelievingly. She can't believe it, but looking up at Wes, one of the smartest people she knows she gets that it's the truth. No matter how much she doesn't like it, its true. Jasmine's doing even more bad than they even originally thought and Fred doesn't find it the least bit comforting. She wonders if maybe ignorance really is bliss and when she looks to Willow she just knows the redheaded witch is thinking the same exact thing.

xxxxxxx

"I know all about you, dead thing." the high priest chokes out as Angel keeps his hands firmly tightened around its neck. "She who brought us up out of the mud and molded us into what we are has given me sight into the hearts and minds of others. I see you. I know all about—" Angel rolls his eyes deeply before squeezing harder. He's heard it all before. "Aah!" the high priest screeches and Angel purses his lips and glares impatiently.

"Then you know I'm kind of in a hurry. Give me her name." he demands and the high priest tries to wriggle out of Angel's grasp gagging as Angel's hand tightens.

"Keeper!" the high priest coughs out and Angel releases him, his eyes doubtful.

"That's it? Caper?" he questions and the high priest shakes his head as he rubs his throat area to soothe it.

"The true name is known only by the keeper of the name." he insists and Angel moves in again, grabbing the priest's neck.

"Right. That's you!" he growls lowly and the creature shakes its head.

"No, I am the guardian of the word!" he replies and Angel nods.

"You said the word is the name." Angel says, repeating the high priest's earlier statement but the creature keeps its eyes fixed firmly on him.

"Yes, and I guard the keeper of it." the high priest tries to explain and Angel scrunches his nice up a bit before looking over the high priest's shoulder, puzzled.

"So you're the keeper's keeper?" he questions with confusion. And the creature replies, simply repeating he's the 'guardian of the word'. What the hell are they doing calling the keeper of the keeper, guardian of the word anyway. The name is without a doubt aggravating and misleading and Angel doesn't get why people have to make things so damn complicated all the time.

"Yeah, OK, so where's this Keeper of the Name?" Angel asks and the priest glances toward the corner where another creature is kneeling. He releases the priest and turns. "Swell."

"The keeper will not be forthcoming. Only with its last breath will it divulge the true name of the blessed devourer." the high priest informs him and Angel nods, walking over to the keeper.

"Ok, big guy, you got a name I need. So we can either do this the easy way or the hard way. But you're gonna give me her name or—" Angel cuts off as the keeper stands and growls menacingly at him. "Right. The hard way." Angel says before shrugging and closing in. Nothing is stopping him from defeating Jasmine especially some prissy high priest and something who has a keeper to keep it.

xxxxxxx

"What is it you think you fight for, dead thing? Valor? What you call justice? Your friends are dead... most likely. Or so you believe, so it's not for them you fight." the high priest muses as Angel trades blow with the keeper.

"I'm trying to save my world." Angel provides, dodging a swing from the keeper and ramming his fist into the keeper's abdomen and not doing much damage.

"Your world? A world that doesn't care for you? Doesn't want you." the high priest counters and even Angel knows the high priest is right in a way. The world doesn't want him.

"It needs me." he replies firmly.

"So your Powers That Be tell you, and maybe they're right, but it's not why you're here." the high priest says and Angel grabs the keeper, throwing him into one of the stone walls and knocking him out cold. Angel takes a deep unnecessary breath before turning to face the high priest.

"Ok, bugsy, you want to tell me what I'm fighting for?" he questions curiously and the high priest almost shrugs, as if Angel should already know the answer.

"Both of them." the creature explains and Angel furrows his brows as his eyes move toward the keeper as he starts to roll over and get up.

"Them?" Angel wonders, tensing up to fight again.

"The boy. The woman you're losing. The boy is what you're fighting for as is the girl. But you're going to fail. You're going to lose her." the high priest tells him and Angel is momentarily distracted. He turns to the high priest and wonders how on earth this thing knows about Buffy and Conner. His lack of attention span hurts him though when the keeper comes from behind and snatches him up, strangling him.

"So much effort, always struggling, trying to make things right for the both of them, for Connor, for Buffy, but it's never enough. Why do you bother?" the high priest ask genuinely.

"I can see you never had kids or someone you love." Angel replies as he chokes and struggles to be released from the keeper's grip. He swings his fist around and catches the keeper its head, causing it to drop Angel to the cold hard ground.

"The boy should not even exist. He was only a device to bring forth the blessed she— a means to an end."

"Yeah, well, people get born for all sorts of reasons." Angel reasons as the keeper knocks him backwards.

"Like the girl? The slayer. Destined to fight evil. Raised from the dead and practically a shell." the high priest says and Angel looks over the keeper's shoulder as he kicks it to the ground.

"I love her." Angel

"But they will never love you." the high priest rebuts, shaking its head.

"It doesn't matter." Angel replies sorely as the keeper snatches a lit torch off the wall and comes after Angel with it.

"Foolish dead th—"

Angel quickly ducks, and the keeper misses him with the torch and knocks the high priest into a collection of spikes on the wall instead.

"Oh. Oh, that'll work." Angel says smugly before the keeper wraps his claws around Angel's neck and lifts him five feet off the ground and over its head.

xxxxxxx

Everyone inside the cage in the basement is doing their own thing, finding their own way to handle the situation. Both Wesley and Buffy are leaned against the back wall while Lorne, Xander, Willow and Cordelia sit along the side wall. Conner and Dawn are huddled together in the corner, assumedly making up for the lost time together while Fred paces nervously and Gunn continuously kicks the cage door.

"I mean, starting not to look so good for us. Not that I'm giving up or anything." Fred mutters quietly as she nibbles on her fingertips. Wesley watches in grim amusement at how adorable Fred gets when she's nervous, but his musings are interrupt by the clang of Gunn's foot hitting metal, again.

"You can stop that anytime now." Cordelia mentions and Gunn narrows his eyes and shakes his head.

"I will... just as soon as somebody comes up with a better idea... to get us out of here." Gunn replies as he keeps kicking the bars.

"And then what, Kato? The anti-Jasmine crowd's about to become a staggering minority on this planet." Lorne counters.

"Yeah, well, first things first. We'll worry about that when the time comes."

"Bell's rung, babe. Time's come." Lorne says sadly and Fred puts a hand on her hip.

"Weird—Faith walking out like that, you know? Leaving us unguarded." Willow points out and Xander looks at her and nods in agreement.

"Yeah. If she's not careful, we might move about freely in our impervious 10 by 9 steel cage." Lorne quips.

"Wouldn't want that." Cordelia says sarcastically, crossing her arms.

"Shouldn't Buffy of all people be doing the kicking? She and Conner are the one with the super powers."

"This cage was built to keep Angelus its not really going to make a difference." Conner tells them.

"Maybe we were getting to her." Gunn says hopefully.

"More than likely, her godliness summoned her for a little tender-lovin'—"

"Blood." Wesley says suddenly and Xander grimaces.

"Is that some kind of ritual she has her doing? 'Cause...ew."

"What? Oh, no, I was just thinking. Cordelia's blood, it had the same power as Jasmine's to break the thrall she had over us." Wesley explains further.

"Mother and daughter, they share the same blood." Willow tells the others, jumping onto Wes's train of thought.

"Don't remind me." Cordelia groans, putting her head in her hands.

"What I don't get is there are no people like us. Not anymore. We're it. She had us on the run. And if Cordelia's so dangerous to her, why not kill her and be done with it?" Wesley prompts and Fred looks up and meets his eyes.

"Because maybe she can't." Fred provides and Wesley nods, his brow furrowed deep on thought.

"Exactly. I think Jasmine may be dependent on Cordelia. She can't hurt her or Conner, not without hurting herself. But maybe Cordelia can hurt Jasmine." Wesley reasons and Gunn purses his lips questioningly.

"That's a whole lot of maybes." he replies dubiously.

"Maybe, but if Wes is right, Cordelia might be our only hope to stop Jasmine." Willow concludes and Cordelia looks up, a grin on her face.

"Only hope? Well I think I kinda like the sound of that." she says and Buffy's lip twitches at the side in amusement.

xxxxxxx

A female reporter is speaking into a microphone and facing a camera in the Hyperion's crowded lobby as everyone awaits Jasmine's global press conference.

"I can tell you, Hal, there is a feeling of terrific anticipation in the room as I'm sure there is for our countless brothers and sisters across the globe watching this broadcast." the female reporter boasts.

"Many of us have already been touched by her power and her glory. And for those who've yet to experience the sublime benevolence of Jasmine, this will easily be the most momentous day in recorded history." a male reporter says.

Suddenly the crowds start to cheer, oohing and ahing as Jasmine walks onto the upper balcony in the lobby.

"Oh I believe that... Yes, she may be... Yes, yes, Jasmine. She's primed. Isn't she beautiful." the reporter cooes and the crowd all turn animatedly to look up at their leader.

"Jasmine…"

"Please. Please stand. This is a moment to cherish, and I want everyone to share it with me, heads held high. Welcome. And to all those people of this remarkable world who are meeting me for the first time…" Jasmine lifts her hand and blows a kiss to the people below. "Mmwah. I want to thank you for allowing me to speak with you. I come to you not as a leader or divinity, but as your partner in a venture to make this the best of all possible worlds, without borders, without hunger, war, or misery. A world built on love, respect, understanding, and, well, just enjoying one another. Doesn't that sound nice?" Jasmine says kindly, all smiles as the crowd applauds her and she's being recorded.


	31. Chapter 30

A/N: Okay I am so sorry about the really late update but my mom was in the hospital so I had absolutely NO time to upload a new chapter. Again I'm _so_ sorry. This story is coming to a close soon and you've been warned its gonna be angsty BUT good news theres going to be a sequel so if you're interested on how it all ends you'll read it when I start posting. Anyway, enjoy and leave reviews and tell me what you think!

* * *

**Carpe Noctum**

_Chapter 30_

Gunn continues to kick at the cage door when they hear the clapping and cheering drifting from the lobby.

"What's that?" Dawn asks, lifting her eyes up toward the staircase.

"Jasmine's world debut, I expect." Wesley replies solemnly.

"So...we're alone. It's just us now." Gunn acknowledges quietly.

"Its too late." Conner adds, his eyes hardening at that fact.

"That's all, folks." Lorne quotes, standing up and looking distantly at the wall.

Buffy takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, attempting to shut out the world around her. She doesn't want to go catatonic or anything again, she's not that selfish but just a few minutes to herself would suffice. It's over. Angel's gone who knows where and the whole world is under Jasmine's power. She wishes she could have done something different and somehow prevented all of this. She failed them. She was supposed to be the one who saved the world, not the one who sat back and watched helplessly. She was supposed to keep them all _safe_ and yet here they all are, locked up in a steel cage waiting for some people eating she beast to decide their fate. She absently wonders where Giles is and if he's okay and whether he knows what's going on here in L.A. or what he would say.

And she just is so tired of the fighting, of losing and she just wants the powers to cut her some slack.

xxxxxxx

"Now I know you have lots of important questions for me—difficult questions—and I want you to know everything, so I'm going to open up the floor." Jasmine informs everyone below her in the lobby and a whole bunch of reporters raise their hands. "Yes, Tracy?"

"Uh— uh, you know my name?" the reporter asks, her voice filled with surprise.

"That's right." Jasmine nods, before nodding at her. "You have a question?"

"You know my name." the female reporters says again, a small smile on her face.

"Anyone else?" Jasmine prompts.

"Uh, excuse me, Jasmine. What can we do to show our love for you?" a male reporter wonders.

"You don't have to do anything except love one another." Jasmine tells them, before a broad smile spreads across her face. "Although a temple would be nice. Something massive and awe-inspiring, yet warm and nurturing, celebrating the gentle pleasures of a peaceful, precious coexistence where violent behav—"

The crowd suddenly gasps as a bright blinding blue light emits from the center of the lobby. Angel steps out of the portal, the blue orb in one hand and the dripping head of the keeper in the other.

"Kill him! All of you, kill him now!" Jasmine screams desperately and the crowd obeys turning toward Angel angrily. To keep them away he lifts the keepers head and the second they see it they immediately back away.

Angel takes a deep unnecessary breath before looking up.

"I'm sorry." Angel says quietly and Jasmine shakes her head, tears filling her eyes.

"Don't." she pleads but Angel has already pulled out a knife, slicing the threads that seal the keeper's lips. A breathy sound escapes the keeper's mouth but its not any word or language anyone can understand. As soon as the keeper falls silent Jasmine's face flashes green and begins to decay. Faith's eyes widen as she stumbles back and falls on her back as the rest of the crowd follows, panicking and screaming and trying to run out of the Hyperion.

"No!" Jasmine shouts at everyone, briefly glowing white and improving her appearance slightly. "Please. Pay no attention. It's a lie. See? I—I'm not—"

The people don't even spare her a glance just continue screaming and running. She turns to Faith as she scrambles to her feet and runs in the opposite direction. "Wait! Please! Don't leave me!" Jasmine pleads before shaking her head and trying to find an escape. Angel looks back at the Hyperion, shoving away the grief for his friends, for his son, for his love before following her out.

xxxxxxx

"What in the hell is goin' on up there?" Lorne wonders anxiously.

"It didn't sound good. I don't know what—"

"I'll tell you what it was. The devourer chowing down," Gunn grunts, kicking the door again and again. "and I bet you we're dessert."

"Gunn, will you stop wasting your—" Cordelia starts before Buffy walks over determination written all over her face as she rears back and kicks the door off it's hinges before charging up the stairs without a second glance.

"Never give up, never surrender." Conner quotes.

"Let's go." Wesley tells them, walking out of the cage.

"I loosened it up you know." Gunn grumbles and Dawn pats him on the back as she files past him and follows the others out.

"'Course you did Gunn. Course you did."

"That's it? No thank you?" Gunn asks, his brows furrowed as the others walk past him.

"Thanks, Charles." Fred says, smiling over her shoulder as she takes a place beside Wesley.

"Yeah, thanks Gunn. You're the best." Cordelia tells him.

"I just want my props is all." Gunn says nodding, closing the cage door behind him and following the others up the stairs and to the lobby.

xxxxxxx

Jasmine wanders the streets that once were peaceful aimlessly as she watches all hell break loose around her. Traffic jams, blurs of screaming people whir past, garbage and debris littering the streets.

"Oh! Oh, my God! No!" A woman yelps as she passes Jasmine. Jasmine reaches out and shakes her head.

"Don't be afraid! It's still me! I'm—" Jasmine cuts off abruptly as a rotten tomato smacks into the side of her face. "listen to me!" she screams before closing her eyes. "Faith…"

There's silence for a beat or two and Jasmine turns and starts to walk again, down the center of a street on a bridge as cars whiz pass her.

"Jasmine, it's over. You've lost." Angel tells her firmly and Jasmine turns to Angel, a wild look in her eyes.

"I've lost? Do you have any idea what you've done?" she screams at him.

"What I had to do." he replies simply and Jasmine smiles bitterly.

"No. No, Angel. There are no absolutes. No right and wrong. Haven't you learned anything working for the Powers? There are only choices. I offered paradise. You chose this!" she shouts disbelievingly.

"Because I _could_. Because that's what you took away from us." Angel explains to her. "Choice."

"And look what free will has gotten you." Jasmine says, gesturing around them to the mayhem going on around them.

"Hey, I didn't say we were smart. I said it's our right. It's what makes us human." Angel replies, trying to make her understand.

"But you're not human." Jasmine yells at him.

"Working on it." Angel replies before Jasmine turns and starts to walk away. "Where you going?" he questions but Jasmine continues to walk.

"Leave me alone." she tells him miserably.

"Sorry, but... can't do that." Angel says, shaking his head at her.

"What? You've taken everything. You're gonna try to kill me now, as if you could." Jasmine scoffs as Angel trails behind her.

"Maybe not. But I'll die before I let you hurt anyone else." Angel counters and she shakes her head.

"You're already dead!" she screams at him.

"You know what I mean." Angel pauses. "It ends right here."

"Why do you hate me so much?" Jasmine cries.

"Let's run down the list, huh? Rain of fire, blotting out the sun, enslaving mankind, and, yeah, oh, yeah, hey, you eat people!" he lists off and Jasmine narrows her eyes at him

"Like you never have?" she counters and he ignores her.

"Thousands of people are dead because of what you've done." Angel retorts and Jasmine walks over to him and glowers at him.

"And how many will die because of you?" she questions. "I could've stopped it, Angel. All of it. War, disease, poverty. How many precious, beautiful lives would've been saved in a handful of years?"

She walks over and looks over the edge of the bride, looking over her shoulder at Angel. "Yes, I murdered thousands to save billions." she insists, shaking her head and looking out over the bridge. "This world is doomed to drown in its own blood now."

"The price was too high, Jasmine. Our fate has to be our own, or we're nothing." Angel says, his eyes distant.

"Like me?" Jasmine questions fiercely and Angel walks over to stand beside her.

"Look, we've all done horrible things." he tells her, his mind flashing to all the things Angelus did. What he did to Buffy and his heartaches. "All we can do is try and make up for it. So, OK, you know, it's not the world that you wanted, but maybe you can still help us make it better, even if you have lost your powers."

"Not all of them." Jasmine says, looking down then up at him. She pulls back her fist and punches Angel so hard he goes flying over the edge of the bridge and lands on the hood of someone's car.

Angel coughs and holds a hand to his ribs before looking through the glass at the driver inside of the car. "Run."

The girl gets out and takes off. Angel looks up just in time to se Jasmine lifting the station wagon over her head.

"Think the price was too high? You haven't begun to pay!" Jasmine tells him menacingly, her eyes intent of Angel as she throws the station wagon towards him, snapping a power line on the way down. It slams into the street and bursts into flames before Jasmine jumps down and walks through the burning flames.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I can still make this world a better place." she says sweetly, punching Angel and sending him crashing into a streetlight. "One body at a time. I loved this world. I sacrificed everything I was to be with you." she says, drawing nearer to Angel as he attempts to get to his feet. His whole body is throbbing but despite it he looks up at her.

"So you could rule us?" he counters and Jasmine shakes her head.

"Because I _cared_. The other Powers don't. Never really did. You know that's true in your heart. Shame now I gotta rip it out." she says spitefully reaching down to grab Angel by the collar of hid coat but before she can get a hold of him he snatches up the power line and electrocutes Jasmine with the live sparking end. The electricity shoots through her, sending her reeling but she immediately straightens up and starts back toward Angel.

"I was forged in the inferno of creation, vampire. Do you really think a little electricity would destroy me?" Jasmine laughs and Angel gets on his feet and shrugs.

"Worth a shot." he tells her before punching her without much result. She picks him up and tosses him back into the streetlight, which snaps in half.

"Remember the prophecy, Angel? The one that says in the time of the apocalypse, you'd play a major part? How you never knew whether you'd be on the side of good or evil? Well, now you know." JAsmine tells him, grabbing him by his face. "Thanks to you, this frail, little Power That Was has just enough strength in her to wipe out your whole species. And it's all on your hands."

"This isn't my fault!" Angel yells in her face, punching her just before she grabs his throat. "Go to hell." he rasps.

"You first, baby." Jasmine smirks, forcing Angel into a kiss. Buffy furrows her brows as she watches Angel and Jasmine. Angel pulls away breathing heavy from his injuries as he looks up at Buffy.

"Buffy." Angel coughs out, his eyes wide with surprise and relief.

"Buffy." Jasmine breathes hopefully.

xxxxxxx

"Find anyone?" Wesley questions as he, Dawn, Willow, Conner, Fred, Gunn, Cordelia, Xander and Lorne prowl the hallways.

"We got ourselves a ghost hotel." Gunn tells them.

"Garden's empty. This is incredibly creepy." Xander shivers

"Only in a post-apocalyptic 'Night of the Comet' kind of way." Lorne says and they turn the cornner to find a groggy Faith coming to.

"Oh damn, did I turn evil again? Shit!" she says holding a hand to her head.

"It wasn't your fault this time." Willow says comfortingly, patting Faith's back as she gets up.

"Where were you?" Wesley questions and Faith looks over at the door and back to Wes, Conner, Dawn, Willow, Gunn, Xander, Cordelia and Lorne.

"Buffy knocked me out cold, went racing out the door like a bat out of hell." Faith tells them, wiping the small bit of blood on her head. One thing she can say about B, she punches like a beast when she wants to.

"Do you think they're all—" Fred asks as she picks up and abandoned purse.

"Dead," Lorne finishes before picking up a remote and nodding toward a TV monitor. "Dead air. TV stations going off line. Something big went down."

"Yeah. And here's its head." Gunn says, picking up the keeper's head and showing it to the others.

"Angel." Cordelia says and Fred furrows her brows.

"You sure?" Fred questions and Wesley heads to the door with the others.

"Where we goin'?" Faith wonders and Wesley turns.

"We have to find Angel and Buffy before Jasmine does."

"I second that." Xander adds and Wesley nods as Conner opens the door and stops in his tracks. Everyone stares out the front door at the same thing with wide disbelieving eyes.

"Oh, my god." Dawn gasps, leaning into Conner for support.

xxxxxxx

Buffy's stare is blank as her eyes flit between Jasmine and Angel. Al lshe can see his Jasmine's lips all over Angel and she can feel the jealousy festering. That a thing like that could kiss him without consequence without complication but she can't.

"Buffy. Angel's ruined _everything_. But he can't defeat both of us. You've been alone, ever since being brought back. All that pain and suffering could go away." Jasmine says and Buffy walks over to her squinting her eyes and scrunching her nose.

Buffy pulls back and with a strength she never knew she possessed punches through Jasmine's skull.

"No, it can't." she says quietly, shaking off her hand and grimacing. Jasmine falls to the floor with a thud and Buffy shakes off the goop all over her arm, resisting the urge to hurl.

"Buffy... it's over." Angel tells her softly, trying to take a step towards her as she looks up.

"It is isn't it?" she replies solemnly before taking a few steps back. Angel catches onto her double meaning but she's already starting to leave.

"Buffy…. Buffy!" Angel shouts, clutching his side as she turns and starts toward the hotel and he takes off, limping after her.


	32. Chapter 31

A/N: I am sooo sorry for the _lateeeeeeeeeeeeee_ update. I've had soooo much going on, like _alot_. My mom is better but I've been having a lot of problems at home and a funeral I had to attend for my best friend's brother in law who died in afghanistan earlier this month so its been a very hectic month. I know this is probably ridled with mistakes but I wanted to give you an update. (I'll probably go back and edit it eventually, fixing the grammar and everything) This is the last chapter before I start the sequel but I must warn you it is SUPER angsty. Like I think some of you may want to hurt me but I promise things will be resolved in the sequel. More motivation for you all to keep up with it. Anyway, enjoy and look out for the sequel. Hopefully I'll be posting it within the next month. Until then, stay cool.

* * *

**Carpe Noctum**

_Chapter 31_

Weakly, Angel and Buffy stumble in through the front door. The rest of the gang is in the office waiting impatiently for them when they hear the two come in. Cordelia is the first to look up and see Angel and Buffy walk through the door and a relieved smile breaks across her face as she squeezes Xander's hand in hers.

"Angel." Fred breathes from beside Wesley and Angel's eyes widen as he takes in the sight of every single one of his friends, alive.

"Oh, my God." he chokes out in disbelief. "You're alive."

"Buffy!" Dawn suddenly shouts, breaking the reverent moment and launching herself into Buffy.

"Buffy!" Willow and Xander shout it unison, joining Dawn in almost smothering Buffy. She smiles weakly and lays her head on Xander's shoulder as she holds Willow tight and strokes Dawn's hair.

"Angel." Wesley acknowledges cautiously and Angel turns to him and nods about to tell him everything when Buffy breaks off from her group hug and meanders out to the garden by herself. Angel watches helplessly as she goes before ducking his head down, sighing and looking back up at the others.

"Jasmine's dead. I brought back her name and her powers were destroyed." Angel tells them, plopping down on the couch in the lobby. " Buffy killed her." he explains.

"Um Angel there's something—" Willow starts to say but Angel's attention is elsewhere as he begins to ramble.

"I've never seen her like this. She wasn't hurt or angry, she just... Walked away. And her face, it—it was just blank, like we had nothing left." Angel says shutting his eyes tightly and lowering his head into his hands.

"Angel, you really—" Wesley tries to interrupt but Angel continues.

"I've got a bad feeling. She's just...given up on us. I think she might—"

"End world peace?" a voice sounds, with a lilt he knows well. Angel turns to see Lilah standing in the doorway, a smirk on her face. "Well, you already took care of that. Congratulations."

"Lilah." Angel says his voice guarded as he slowly stands.

"Angel. What's the matter, ace? Didn't think you were the only one that ever got to come back from hell around here, did ya?" Lilah questions before clearing her throat. "Speaking of which, could I possibly get some ice water?"

"What are you doing here, Lilah?" Angel asks, his eyes narrowing to slits.

"She's not here. It's not her. It can't be." Wesley mutters, his brows furrowed as he shakes his head. Its impossible. She was dead. He was the one who made it official.

"There's a signed dollar in your wallet that says different." she counters and he frowns, before walking to the other side of the room.

"It's a lie." he insists and Lilah smirks.

"Lah. It's a Lilah." she tells them in amusement. Her smile quickly fades when she see's Fred move to Wesley side and she sighs before turning to Angel. "You're the one with the preternatural senses. You tell him."

"It's true, Wes. It's her." Angel confirms.

"But how?" Fred questions, a bit of jealousy and curiosity in her tone. "She was dead."

"She's _still _dead." Willow says as she observes Lilah and Gunn scratches the back of his neck.

"Vampire?" he prompts and Lilah cringes.

"Eww, please. Angelus drank from me, it's true, but like with most men, it was a one-way street. I was dead already. Besides, my Wesley made sure I'd be spared," Lilah says, pulling down her purple scarf to reveal the scar marked across her neck. Wesley looks away. "just in case. It's OK, lover. I never felt a thing."

"I'm sure that's true." Wesley replies curtly as Lilah covers up her scar again.

"I don't get this. If she ain't alive, and she ain't a vampire, what in the hell is she?" Faith asks with frustration and Gunn almost smiles, thinking about how in sync the both of them are.

"I'm just a messenger. That's all. They'll be sending me straight back to hell once I'm finished here." Lilah explains, shrugging.

"Who's 'they'?" Xander wonders and Angel clenches his jaw tightly.

"Wolfram & Hart. The contract she signed with them extends beyond her death." he tells the group.

"Standard perpetuity clause, I'm afraid. Always read the fine print." Lilah replies, pursing her lips.

"Wow, that sounds like it really sucks." Cordelia says and Lilah rolls her eyes at the brunette.

"Not all of us have supernatural freaks to help us get out of tight situations." Lilah counters and Cordelia straightens up a bit, feeling a renewed gratefulness for her friends.

"What's your game, Lilah?" Angel suddenly prods and Lilah shifts her gaze to Angel's.

"No game." she says innocently before shrugging. "In fact, game over. Guess what? You win, which is why I'm here. I have been authorized to make you kids an offer." she tells them.

"You can't possibly think there's anything we'd want from you." Fred scoffs, crossing her arms and smirking at the thought.

"I don't think you'll want it, but you'll take it, because this is the offer of a lifetime." she tells them cockily, before pausing and frowning. "Just not, you know...mine."

xxxxxxx

As Lilah sits on the couch, the remaining members of the fang and Scooby gang stare at her. They all seem uncomfortable, each rearranging and shifting as they ponder whatever it is Lilah told them. They look at her, at each other, at no one. Finally, Gunn breaks the ice.

"You want to run that by us one more time?" Gunn prompts, his brows furrowed as he tries to let everything Lilah just told them sink in.

"What was unclear?" Lilah wonders and Fred purses her lips.

"I think the part where you offered us Wolfram & Hart." Fred replies, still slightly shell shocked.

"Just the L.A. Branch.: Lilah corrects and Lorne chuckles, shaking his head.

"'Just the L.A. Branch.'" Lorne says, standing up and irritation seeping into his tone. "Hi, from another dimension, what the hell does that mean?"

"Means we _give_. You win. We're moving out. The senior partners are ceding this territory to you, and to prove it, they want to give you controlling interest in our L.A. Office. You get the building, assets, personnel, letterhead, paper clips, all of it. It's yours to do with as you see fit." Lilah explains, smirking at the looks of disbelief, horror, curiosity and suspicion on their faces.

"But there is no Los Angeles office of Wolfram & Hart. The beast destroyed it, right?" Willow questions, looking over to Angel and the rest of the fang gang, who all start to nod when Lilah interrupts them.

"Oh, it'll be back, restaffed and zombie-free. We'll be bigger, better, and shinier than ever, and we want to give it to you once we've finished." she tells them and Cordelia shakes her head, trying to wrap her head around the whole thing but failing miserably.

"You want to give us your evil law firm?" Cordelia wonders, the strangeness of Lilah's offer settling over her.

"We ain't lawyers." Gunn decides to point out and Fred waves a hand to get everyone's attention.

"Or evil." she says meekly, before eyeing Cordelia and Faith and adding, "Currently."

"What we're offering you is a turnkey, state-of-the-art, multi-tasking operation. What you do with it, well, that's up to you." Lilah says, standing up and crossing her arms.

"Why?" Angel suddenly prods, speaking for the first time in a good while. He just knows it in his gut that Wolfram & Hart have an agenda and they need them at the firm for whatever that agenda is.

"Well, I thought that was obvious. You earned it. Think of it as a reward." Lilah replies pleasantly and Dawn frowns, not catching on to what Lilah's implying.

"Reward for what?" she asks and Lilah turns to her.

"Ending world peace." Lilah tells her as if it should be obvious.

"That's not what happened." Conner insists and Lilah raises a brow.

"No?"

"Jasmine was creating a slave state." Wesley supplies and Lilah nods at him sarcastically.

"Right, where the slaves are full of giggly joy and love. Ugh, what a nightmare." she replies sardonically and Angel shakes his head. Jasmine was evil, she had to be stopped.

"She was eating people." he says, justifying the whole thing and Lilah quickly rebuts.

"They knew what they were getting into." she tells them and Xander furrows his brows.

"Her stomach?" he retorts and Willow purses her lips in thought.

"World peace comes at a price. Jasmine understood that. She consumed, what? Couple dozen souls a day? Now weigh that against ending the suffering of millions, but you fixed that." Lilah grins, reveling in the medley of expressions and outrage passing over their faces.

"No, we didn't. I—I mean, we did, we—we fixed it, but not in the way that you're trying to make it sound." Willow babbles, shaking her head as she tries to explain but the more she thinks about the entire thing the more nervous she gets.

"Jeez, it's not like it was a criticism. Anyway, I'm dead and running late." she says, walking toward the door and leaning on the frame. "Think about our proposal. If anyone's interested when everything is rebuilt and we have the city back on track we'll call and hey... good job." she smiles before turning and walking out.

"We ended a nefarious global domination scheme, not world peace…" Fred says with conviction and annoyance in her voice, before exchanging glances with Angel, Xander, Willow, Wesley, Dawn, Conner, Gunn, Faith and Cordelia. "…right?"

xxxxxxx

Buffy closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, attempting to drown out the chaos she hears unfolding beyond the walls of the Hyperion and it's garden. She figures if she can just close it all off, if not just for a minute or two, it'd be easier for her to cope with the situation and calm herself down. Her and Angel are over. And not the kind over they have been but a different kind of over. She can't keep waiting or expecting him to see their situation any differently than it already is. All this time she's been waiting and she just can't do it anymore.

"Hey Buffy, you.. are you okay?" Xander suddenly asks and Buffy eyes tear up at the sight of her two best friends.

"No… I'm really not." she cries and Willow immediately goes over to Buffy and wraps her arms around her. Xander tilts his head before finding his way over to the two of them and holding them close.

"It's gonna be okay, Buff." Xander promises and Buffy nods her head against his shoulder.

"I know, it will be." she replies with a watery smile and Xander kisses her and Willow's head before leaving the two of them to talk at Willow's command.

The two of them aren't talking long when suddenly Willow grips the railing of the garden door.

"Will?" Buffy asks, scrunching up her nose in confusion before Willow falls to her knees.

"Willow!" Buffy shouts, dropping down beside Willow and holds her best friend up as Willow pushes her palm against her forehead.

"I can see it." Willow grunts. "Coming from underneath."

"What do you see, Will?" Buffy questions calmly.

"The hell mouth." Willow says, panting as she looks up at Buffy. "It's going to open."

xxxxxxx

"You know, can't help thinking it might cut down on the work load some if we got a little help, a few extra employees, or a turnkey, state-of-the-art, multi-tasking operation." Gunn says pursing his lips as he makes the suggestion in the office him and Wesley are seated in.

"You can't possibly think that's an option." Wesley prompts as he leans back in his chair.

"Well, now I know it's an option, 'cause I was standing there when the dead lady offered it to us. Come on, Wes, how long are you gonna be satisfied, sitting there sticking pins in maps and blowing dust off your books?" Gunn questions before sighing. "Sorry, man. I shouldn't have said it like that."

"No, no, no. They are rather dusty." Wesley agrees, looking away.

"That's not what I meant. Couldn't have been easy for you seeing Lilah again like that." Gunn replies weakly.

"Oh, yes. That was awkward, wasn't it? You decapitate a loved one, you don't expect them to come visiting." Wesley shrugs, picking up a nearby pen and focusing his attention on his map.

"Loved one?" Gunn wonders, brow raised.

"Figure of speech." Wesley replies quickly, keeping his eyes trained in the map set out in front of him.

xxxxxxx

Lorne shakes off his coat as he walks in through the front door. Angel looks up from changing his shirt while Fred and Xander sit quietly on one of the sofa's in the lobby, Buffy standing behind them.

"You're back. How is it?" Angel questions cautiously. Conner and Dawn emerge from upstairs while Wesley and Gunn come out from the back office at the sound of Lorne's entrance.

"I'm not saying we ended world peace or anything, kids, but, uh, it's a mess out there, and considering the banner year we've had, that's up against some pretty stiff competition." Lorne tells them, helplessly falling into the sofa besides Fred and Xander.

"Ok, well, don't you think maybe we should consider—" Gunn starts to say but Angel's expression darkens.

"Consider what, Gunn? What should we consider?" he snaps and Gunn scowls a bit, crossing his arms.

"Nothing." he mutters, leaning back into his chair.

"You want to go with them when they resurface? That's up to you."

"It's not a decision I can make for you, for any of you, but know this: before your first day is even over, before you even cross through their doors, you'll be corrupted."

Gunn swallows thickly, looking down at his feet before Buffy takes a deep breath and lets her gaze roam the room.

"It looks like you all have a lot to discuss. Dawn. Faith. Come on. Lets go."

"Wait what?" Faith replies, complete shock in her tone and Buffy meets her gaze,

"You're coming with us back to Sunnydale." Buffy tells her. Faith nods vigorously.

"Alright, B. Whatever you say. I'll just go grab my stuff." she says, turning toward the staircase and into her temporary bedroom at the Hyperion. Buffy watches Faith go before looking to Dawn.

"Dawn, we're leaving. Get your things and lets go."

"Wait, Buffy, no." Dawn insists and Buffy shakes her head, immediately shutting down Dawn's pleas.

"I don't want to hear it, Dawn. Get your stuff." Buffy tells her fiercely, making it clear that it isn't up for discussion. Dawn's lower lip trembles as she looks past Buffy at Conner before she starts upstairs to get her things.

"So we're going?" Xander questions simply and Buffy nods.

"Yep." she answers curtly. Xander looks at Buffy, her arms crossed and her back straight and then to Angel who's eyes are closed as he faces the opposite way.

"Just like that?" Xander prompts and Buffy nods again.

"Yep."

Xander looks to Willow, seeing if maybe she can explain what's going on, but Willow just nods at him.

"Alright then." Xander sighs, getting up and nodding at Buffy before he and Willow go upstairs to gather their things.

"Guess this is it, then." Buffy says, a little sadness in her voice as she faces the fang gang.

"Keep in touch." Fred tells her, getting up from her place on the couch and hugging Buffy close.

"If you need _anything_… we're here. And I'll contact all my resources and try my best to try and locate any information on Giles' whereabouts." Wesley offers, a soft smile on his lips.

"Thank you." Buffy replies quietly as Fred pulls away and walks over to Wesley's side.

"Its been nice meeting you, in a totally rushed and apocalyptic way. We should try hanging sometime without the impending doom and stuff." Gunn says with a grin and Buffy chuckles as Gunn leans in and hugs her.

"Agreed." she says as she comes face to face with Conner.

"Promise you wont stay away _forever_." Conner says, narrowing his eyes before grabbing her in a big bear hug.

"I promise. And don't be afraid to come and visit. You can stay at my house, anytime." she replies, pulling away and gripping his shoulders. "I mean that."

"Okay." Conner tells her, nodding and making way for Cordelia to say goodbye.

"Be careful, don't die again okay?" Cordy asks and Buffy shakes her head in amusement.

"Okay Cordy, I'll do that just for you if you do it too." Buffy laughs and Cordelia nods vigorously.

"Done." Cordelia says putting her hands up to signify a deal before walking over to Angel and Gunn as Lorne steps up to Buffy.

"Oh sweet cheeks, you never did get to sing that song for me."

"Maybe next time." she says with a smile, leaning in and embracing him. When Lorne lets go, Buffy turns to Angel.

"Buffy…" Angel says reverently and pleading.

"Angel. I guess I'll uh see you when the next apocalypse comes around." Buffy tells him, nodding to herself.

"Buffy wait…" Angel starts to say but Buffy turns away, taking a deep breath and moving toward Wesley.

"Can you tell the others I'll be out by the car?" she asks, her eyes filled with desperation.

"Yeah, we will." he assures her.

"And if you hear from Giles?" she prompts.

"We'll call." Wesley replies and Buffy nods before taking one last longing look at the Hyperion before stepping outside. As soon as the door swings shut, Angel races to the door and follows her outside. Conner watches him go and takes the opportunity to make his way upstairs passing Willow and Xander as he makes his ascent.

Xander shrugs his small duffle bag off his shoulder and comes to a stop in front of Cordelia.

"So guess this is it then." Xander says and Cordelia looks up at him.

"Guess so." she shrugs, putting her hands behind her back absently.

"I'm uh glad you're not dead or in a coma or anything." he tells her seriously and Cordelia nods, barely containing her frustration.

"Yep."

Xander's hand twitches to reach up and touch her face but he beats it back out of nervousness and tries to swallow the lump of emotion sitting in his throat.

"Could you stay that way?" he asks her, the concern flooding his eyes.

"Yeah, I think I can manage." she tells him, looking down in disappointment.

"Good." Xander nods nervously, picking up his bag and staring at Cordelia for one last minute before turning to Faith.

"You okay dude?" she wonders genuinely and Xander shakes his head before walking over to stand and wait for Willow to come out of the back office.

Fred comes out of the office with Willow in the midst of handing a book to her.

"I think that volume's outdated. You'd know better than me, but there's some interesting stuff about hellmouth. Might help. "

"This is great." Willow smiles in thanks.

"I have to say, someday I'd love to bend your ear about the Pergamum Codex. I—I think some of the really obscure passages are actually Latin translated from a demonic tongue, and they're kind of a hoot. All this stuff about Bacchanals and spells and—actually, I think it's probably funnier in Latin. You know how that is sometimes." Fred shrugs before giggling.

"Time goes by, Will."

"Okay, right**. **Well guys it was good to see you, aside from the huge apocalypse and everything. But of the good nonetheless.

"Yeah it is always nice seeing you." Fred replies.

"That I have to agree with." Wesley nods as Fred smiles wide.

"Don't be a stranger." Willow tells Wesley and he nods.

"Oh trust me, if things continue going the way they have we may all see each other sooner then you think." Gunn laughs while all the others nod in absolute agreement.

xxxxxxx

"Buffy wait up!" Angel calls out and Buffy spins around to face him.

"What?"

"So you're going back to Sunnydale. Is something up?"

"I think. Maybe. I don't know." Buffy sighs. "Willow said she saw something going on with the hellmouth, not to mention the fact we've probably left Anya and Clem on their own for way too long. Something's coming Angel and its planning on staying."

"Please, don't do this." Angel begs.

"Do what?" Buffy asks.

"_This_."

"You were the one who left _me_, not the other way around. I'm just keeping it strictly business from now on._" _Buffy says sternly_._

"I only left you because I love you so much. I want you to have a normal life." Angel tells her, pain seeping through every word.

"I'm the slayer. I'm never going to have a normal life. If that hasn't become obvious enough." she says bitingly.

"But you could." Angel counters. He knows he did the right thing. She's supposed to be with someone who can give her the world, who can walk with her in the sunlight.

"No I _never _can, Angel. Why cant you understand that? I'm never going to have that nice house with the white picket fence and two point five kids running around while my husband grills out in the backyard. I'm never going to be able to leave Sunnydale. None of that is evergoing to happen."

"But kids. You'll want kids and other things that I can't give you." Angel frowns, looking down.

"Well what I want doesn't seem to matter, does it?" Buffy says bitterly, shaking her head and looking up into Angel's eyes. "I didn't want to be the slayer. I didn't want my first watcher to get killed. I didn't want to be expelled from school, twice. I didn't want my parents to split up. I didn't want to move to a hellmouth. I didn't want to die at sixteen. I didn't want my dad to leave. I didn't want _you _to leave. I didn't want my mom to go. I didn't want to die for a second time. I didn't want to come back. I didn't want to let Spike do those things to me..."

"Buffy.." Angel breathes.

"These are the things that stick with me, Angel. They're never going away. I can forget about college and the nightmares even Spike sometimes. But you're one of the things I can _never _forget. You're in everything I do. Everywhere I look. I'm never going to be normal. As much as I wish I can sometimes, I can't forget. I'll never forget." Buffy pauses abruptly and something washes over her. She furrows her brows for a moment trying to hold on to the strange feeling but as quickly as it came, it goes and she's left standing in front of Angel just like she was. "We can't start over."

"We can. I mean, we don't have to start over. We can change things." Angel tells her firmly, reaching over and cradling her head. She shakes off his tender hand and tears up.

"There's only one thing that ever changes anything... and that's death." she says fiercely and Angel's brows furrow as tears begin to fall. "Everything else is just a lie. You can't be saved by a lie."

"I really do love you, Buffy." Angel replies, trying so hard to hold on to her.

"So what are you gonna do about it? Tell me what is going to change." she counters in a low whisper. She turns to walk away when Angel reaches out and touches her arm.

"Buffy?" Angel says softly his brow creased as he looks down at her bowed head. When she lifts her chin up, her hazel eyes meet his. She says nothing as she stares up at him tearfully but the emotion in her eyes is enough to throw Angel off balance.

"I have to go." Buffy says, before turning and practically running to the car. She doesn't understand the images she just saw but its all too much right now.

xxxxxxx

Buffy sighs as she and the others walk through the front door. Home sweet home. Right. Everyone splits up, Xander to go see Anya, Faith heading for the kitchen, Willow for her bedroom and Dawn for hers, while Buffy gets some clothes and takes the longest shower she's ever taken in her life. After she finishes up in the shower and is dressed she makes her way to the couch and sits down. She still processing it all. The whole thing with Angel. The fact that Faith is with them in Sunnydale. Dawn and Conner's relationship. Everything.

Faith plops down beside Buffy as she stares blankly at the wall. Faith peels her banana slowly and shoves it in her mouth with incomprehensible speed causing Buffy to break from her listless staring and let out a chuckle.

"God you're still as obnoxious as ever." Buffy says, rolling her eyes in mock annoyance.

"Yeah, but you love it." Faith says with a mouthful and Buffy just scoffs playfully. "So is there a reason you're annoying me to no end?"

"Not particularly." Faith shrugs, taking a good look at Buffy for what seems like the first time since arriving. She can see the changes in her, there aren't many, but little things are prevalent. Like the sadness that seems to linger in her eyes and the way she caves in on herself when she's alone. Its something she's familiar with. Buffy's expression goes from amused to dark in a mere few seconds and she sighs.

"Seriously Faith, what do you want?"

"Nothing I just…" Buffy gives her a questioning look and Faith shakes her head. "OK. B, I'm worried. All of us are. I mean first that stunt with the psycho drugs and now the brooding. You're starting to look like Angel."

"Its just…" Buffy pauses and sighs. She doesn't want to talk about it, about any of it. She just wants to forget.

"Look I'm tired Faith, help yourself to whatever we have. I'm going to take a long well deserved nap. Wake me up when the worlds ending."

"You got it, B."

Buffy slouches out of sight, padding up the stairs and to her bedroom tiredly. She strips down and changes into a pair of comfortable pajamas before doing the Nestea plunge into her mattress. Being in L.A. completely wore her out, she feels drained: physically and emotionally. So much has happened in the past few weeks she's completely out of sorts. It's like she's on sensory overload with all the emotions she's juggling, like some kind of clown, the same ones that freak Xander out and give her the wiggins. Her heart is heavy, coming back to Sunnydale and leaving things the way they are with Angel is really taking a toll on her.

Trying to distance herself from him is grueling process all on its own, especially after a long period of time, seeing him everyday… almost, knowing he's close by. Not to mention the fact that they left on semi bad terms, not knowing where the other stands doesn't make it any less difficult. She wishes things were less complicated and that she could be with Angel, no strings, no responsibilities to worry about, no Powers that Be looking over her shoulder, but every time they see each other the cold reality becomes clearer and clearer and a possible future together becomes farther and farther away.

She loves Angel, with her whole heart, just as much as she did when he was in Sunnydale, but she's starting to wonder if that's enough. Her eyes finally start to drift close and she allows Angel's image to dance behind her lids. His brown eyes, the curve of his rare smile, the feel of his arms and softness of his lips. It isn't long before she's asleep and in la la land, a place where her and Angel have no bounds keeping them apart. A place where they can be together, in every sense of the word and there's no one else in the world but them. Things shift and she can feel her dream start to gain actual form. Again she feels the haziness surrounding her dream but also a clearness she can't describe.

_She's with Angel in his office around the time she went there after thanksgiving. Everything is just as she remembers it but something changes. The mohra demon Angel killed the moment it came through the window struggles with the two of them before managing to escape. _

_Buffy tries to shake the feeling of familiarity that comes with the events that play out, ones that never happened but feel all too real to be a dream. Searching the sewers with Angel, splitting up and then seeing him under the sun's rays. Beautiful as ever, basking in the sun as he makes his way over and kisses her. He tangles his fingers in her hair and she never wants the moment to end. Then they're back at the office together and down in his apartment and trying to act like mature adults after finding out Angel's human but before she knows it clothes hit the floor and they're wrapping up in one another, never planning on resurfacing. _

The dream cuts off and she wakes up, wishing for that dream, wishing for that other life that had and wishing to know the ending. One she doesn't get. Buffy hears voices drifting from downstairs and steels herself for the inevitable. She gets up stretches her legs and makes her way downstairs. Time to get back to reality.

xxxxxxx

"I guess love just isn't a good look on us." Cordelia sighs putting her head on Angel's shoulder sadly. She thought she was ready, she thought her and Xander could just fall back into what they used to have but everything is so different now and they live so far away. She should have known it wouldn't work.

Suddenly Conner cries out, hunching over and grabbing at his head as the vision he's receiving fills his mind. Angel goes to his side and helps Wesley hold Conner up and he gasps as he comes to again. He looks to Angel, nearly gaping at him while his brows furrow.

"What is it, Con?"

"I … I had a vision."

"Are you sure?" Gunn asks uneasily and Conner frowns at him.

"Yes I'm sure." he replies, rolling his eyes.

"How?" Fred wonders, her eyes wide and Cordelia looks at them all sheepishly.

"I must have passed them on when we.. um.. you know." Cordelia mutters, trailing off awkwardly.

"Oh."

"Oh."

"What did you see?"

"Your… your soul." Conner says with reverence as his vision comes swimming back. The picture of clarity.

_It's Buffy. She's beaten and bleeding, like he's never seen before. She staggers away from an unseen attacker, barely able to hold herself upright. _

_Then he is greeted with the images of girls, teenage girls everywhere, as they fight to their deaths, Dawn among them._

_Suddenly Angel and Buffy touching. His father running a hand across her shoulder blade. _

_And then Angel glowing in an alleyway, putting a hand on his chest. His eyes flash as Angelus' dust rolls through the wind._

"I swear if you lose your soul again I'm gonna…" Gunn starts to trail off and Angel looks to Wesley, Gunn, Cordy and Fred with worry. That can't happen. He can't lose his soul, not again.

"What about it?" Angel wonders earnestly and Conner looks up at his father, his head shaking slightly. He's the one who saw it and he's still trying to grasp its meaning.

"Its… Its bound." Conner breathes and Cordelia's hand covers her mouth in shock. Angel's jaw drops as well as the rest of the gang's too as he lets her words sink in. _Bound_.

"Are you sure?" Angel asks seriously and cynically but Conner nods enthusiastically as he realizes it's the truth.

"What could have done this? How long has it been this way?" Wesley questions.

"Well there was a flash of when Angel woke up from that coma with Buffy..." Conner trails off.

"Did anything happen while you were with Buffy in your flashbacks?" Wesley wonders, turning to Angel to find out answers and confirm what Conner has seen.

"Um, I fought with Angelus. Buffy was dying so I wasn't really paying attention to much else. Then she left and I…" his eyes go wide in recognition and Conner is reminded of the beginning of his vision.

"You what?" Wesley asks, pressing Angel for more.

"I killed Angelus." Angel tells them, mouth agape as he recalls the fight.

_Angelus sighs in disappointment as he turns on Angel right after Buffy disappeared, a look of boredom on his cocky features._

"_Damn it. I always love getting in the thick of things with that girl. She's so fun to break." Angelus cackles, leveling the pipe in his hand. If Buffy's gone then his only alternative is… "Oh well, I've still got you to beat on." Angelus smiles, bringing up the pipe and swinging it. It sails through the air but before it can strike him, Angel catches it with his hand and snarls, pulling Angelus into his grip. He wraps his hands around Angelus' neck and growls._

"_Wow, soul boy, I didn't think you had it in you." Angelus chokes out just before Angel snaps his head off, leaving nothing but dust behind. Angelus' ashes scatter across the alleyway and Angel starts to glow. His eyes widen and the next thing he knows he's on the floor of the basement in the Hyperion watching the two most important people in his world fighting one another. So Angelus' death is nothing but a fading memory as he jumps up and grabs Conner._

"_Conner. Its over. Its me. Really."_

"You what?" Gunn shouts at him and Angel nods his head in confirmation, the memory coming back clearer with every passing second.

"I killed him. We were fighting and right before I got back I killed him."

"And you didn't think to tell us this before because…?" Cordelia trails off.

"I didn't remember until just now." Angel explains with excitement, hope infused in his tone as his vision is clouded with visions of Buffy. He smiles despite himself as Wesley and Fred exchange possible theories, but Conner interrupts their rambling and Angel's fantasies with a hard, grim expression.

"Earth to vampire dad, that's not all I saw." Conner says ominously and Fred, Lorne, Gunn, Cordelia and Angel look to him for answers they're not sure they want. "This is it, guys. It's the end of days."


End file.
